"Then that's where I need to be."

She glances briefly at Cherie, eyebrow subtly raised, silently asking her opinion.

"You're not with the Tacketies, are you?" Cherie questions.

"I assure you, I'm an independent trader seeking my fortune. Nothing more, nothing less."

"You're a smuggler, then," she tries.

"Would I be so foolish to quail under the lightest questioning if I were? I am surely doomed the moment the Revenue Men look upon me."

"...I like him!" Cherie declares.

"Great. Now, I have to find someone. Somebody here put out an order for stained glass at very good rates..."

"Oh, that's probably the Painters Collective again. I'm sure they'll be along shortly, and then you can fly off with my friend. Who deserves to seek whatever she wants in her life."

"Beg pardon?"

"Nothing, nothing." Cherie winks at Hailey.

Hailey pulls Cherie into a fierce hug. "Would that I could settle down peacefully with a friend like you. But alas, the rails are in my blood. You'd best still be in one piece when I get back, or I'll steal a locomotive and storm whatever mad place passes for an afterlife in these parts."

Releasing her friend somewhat reluctantly, she turns back to the captain. "I'd be glad to join up, if you'll have me, then. Where do we start?"

"I'll have to show you around the engine if you've never sailed before. After I take care of my business. Chat with the crew, see what engine life is like in the meantime, if you like?" He gestures at the disembarking sky-sailors.

"I'll look forward to it."

Hailey nods firmly, and with a last wave to Cherie she glances over the sailors, looking for any that seem particularly interruptible.

"Cor, what a pretty place this is, why'd you want to leave it?" The round-faced stoker waves at her. He seems young, and was staring wide-eyed all around at Titania a moment ago.

Hailey steps over toward him. "That is is, but I can't stay still for the life of me. I'm sure there are other pretty places to be seen out there in the sky. What's it like, living on an engine?", she asks with a smile.

"Well, it's kind of cramped and there's a lot of work. It's pretty loud. The food's plain. Its scary sometimes. But the views are amazing and we're almost a big ol' family, you know?"

"Getting a sense of belonging, and still getting to travel? That sounds pretty great, honestly."

"Right? I heard bad rumors about sky-sailing but the Amicable Captain takes care of us. Haven't lost anyone since I joined, though I got rattled pretty bad by an exploding pipe a few weeks ago. They kept me off-duty until I was better."

"Sounds like a good bunch, and a good Captain."

"You're gonna sign on? Let me tell you about the Good Deal. That's the engine's name, see. Her boilers are big and slow, not hungrier than most, but notably slow to get up to steam and come down from it. It can bite you if you're not careful, captain calling for steam and it's gonna be five minutes before he can get it. Need to learn to anticipate things if you're a stoker. Hey, Gloria, c'mere!"

He calls over a Bruised Gunner to join the conversation. They'll happily talk about locomotive work until the Captain finishes his business, does Hailey have any particular questions?

She does! What sort of fuel? Does airflow in the engine play a role? Do winds affect projectiles? What are the most common hazards in general? How long are their duty shifts? What's the bunking situation like? Where are the best places to see outside the engine? What do they do when they're off-duty on the engine?

Most anything that burns, though coal is the most consistent. There's a complicated system of air intakes and heat exchangers that draws in air outside the engine and takes it into the furnace. The winds can affect projectiles, but it's only really a problem if you're doing very long-range gunnery or you're in a storm or something? Navigating narrow passages, various sky-enemies that the Captain runs away from unless absolutely necessary, the risk of collisions or getting lost or running out of food and fuel. Duty shifts are seven hours a day with a bit of overlap to account for meals, and a rotating night-shift. There's eighteen crew, including the captain and her. They sail for sixteen hours a day. Everyone has their own bed but not everyone has their own cabin, also the cabins are about the size of a closet. The Bruised Gunner points out her porthole window. Her favorite place they've visited was Polmear & Plenty's Circus, but the other guy preferred Port Avon - it's idyllic, bucolic, peaceful. They play cards, drink and chat, sometimes sing, or get on with their own hobbies like reading and drawing.

Is ammunition ever in short supply? What do they fire? Could they perhaps experiment to see if her windy tricks — here, see a smol whirlwind — could enhance range or force? That seems like something to try before it ever becomes necessary. She's not actually worked with chemical-fired slugthrowers before; they seem really fascinating. Running away definitely seems like a smart policy, though. What sorts of things did they have at the Circus? Would they mind teaching her their card games at some point?

It'd only get that if they went looking for fights. Cannon shells are big pointy metal things filled with explosives and propelled by more explosives, and the captain also has a mine-layer that spits out remote-controlled explosives behind the engine, to discourage pursuit. The Bruised Gunner is quite intrigued by wind powers, and speculates that it could be productive. Air resistance is responsible for range limitations, you know. The circus is kind of run down and disappointing, actually, but nothing was trying even slightly to kill them - a rare treat - and the acrobat twins were very impressive. Sure, she can learn all the card games! Gambling is permitted as long as one is discreet about it and doesn't gamble themselves into debt.

Ooh. Explosives are great. Discouraging pursuit seems very sensible. Hailey's very eager to try experiments whenever winds up working out for them, assuming the captain doesn't mind. She'd suspected air resistance was a limiting factor, good to have that confirmed. And acrobatics are great! She can do some acrobatics herself, though she cheats a bit. She'd love to see the acrobat twins if they pass by the circus. And gambling for debt seems silly. Gambling for interesting favors or stories or even just small change seems more fun than debt.

She'll probably have to endure lectures in gun safety. Gun safety and ear protection is very important.

...A lookout who has been listening in chimes in with his suggestion about what sorts of 'favors' could be bet. The Bruised Gunner laughs. The stoker who first approached her blushes. The Bruised Gunner suggests they go and find a bar.

(The Captain has vanished from the dock by now.)

Gun safety seems like a good thing to have lectures about. Semi-tame explosions used to throw explosive slugs are worth making safe. Well, safe for us. Enemies don't get the privilege of that safety.

And Hailey blushes lightly, but refrains from comment.

There's a bar down by Bloom Bower, where wine is served alongside beer and cider and paintings of the beauty of the Reach line the walls and anyone who likes can take a turn singing and playing music. They can spend time there, telling more sky-stories. Stowaways, being accidentally boarded by Tacketies, a barrel of Hours starting to unravel in the hold and rushing to chuck the whole thing over the side before it got any worse, convincing the captain to get a slightly better cannon for the engine...

Wow! These are great stories, and it sounds like the engine will be a fascinating place. Hours continue to sound weird and inspire curiosity; hopefully she'll get to see one at some point. The Tacketies sound like an odd bunch, and worth learning more about if they're going to be an ongoing issue. Hailey can share stories of her fight with the Chorister Bees, and one or two other monsters she fought in training at Thors Academy.

After a few hours, a couple rounds of gambling, and some drunken art criticism attracting the ire of the local poets, the group suggests heading back to the engine, as a cheaper place to sleep than trying to find a bed in Titania and maybe to start showing Hailey around the place.

Hailey thinks this is a great idea. Conveniently she's got all her worldly possessions: a small bag containing the few clothes she bought on Titania along with a notebook and pen.

Well, here's the locomotive! It's... Pretty big, actually. Approximately house-sized. Wide enough for two corridors running along the length with a room in between, and a small lower crawl space for water tanks and piping and crankshafts and wires, and a small, narrow upper level for some slightly low-ceiling single-bunk cabins and a lookout station. The bridge and two weapon cubbies are at the front, then a cargo bay that stretches far to the side and front that is responsible for the wide bulge in this engine, then a galley and kitchen, then some cabins, then the engine room with all sorts of engineering equipment. Various nooks and crannies here and there serve as extra storage space. The engine has Bronzewood plating over much of the outer hull, making it reasonably resilient to impacts and the like.

Hailey gives the Bronzewood a flick with her finger. That name sounds like some kind of tree that produces extremely durable wood.