Chapter 7: The Bridge

Captain Alexandria de Sade stepped onto the bridge of her ship after welcoming Mr. Kane. "Nigel must like him," she thought. Her Historian was practically floating if the glimmer in his eyes had been any indication. She could have told him any thoughts he was entertaining about the Horotech were in vain, but Nigel most likely knew that anyway. He was just having fun with it. Alex couldn't help but wonder if Mr. Kane had figured that out yet.

It was the least of her thoughts on her newest crew member, however, as she looked over the brain of The William's Hunt with its myriad stations, monitors of blinking lights and subtle sounds that meant that operations proceeded normally. Her Pilot, Angel, was at the helm where she ran pre-flight tests and checks that Alex could have done herself, but that was what a pilot was for. Angel was a far better pilot than Alex was, and the Captain was not above allowing people to do their jobs.

Angelica "Angel" Flynn didn't stop in her work for more than a glance from her hazel eyes to see who had come into her sanctuary. Captain Alex registered as an acceptable presence, so Angel just turned back to the systems checks she had put into motion an hour ago. Her hand smoothed back imaginary loose strands of her medium brown hair that was held back into a simple ponytail in a needless gesture. The engines might be the heart of the ship, what gave it purpose, but without a good pilot at the helm it might as well be a very expensive paperweight.

"All aboard, Cap?" Angel asked in a distracted tone of voice. Part of what made a good pilot was the ability to be a magician at multi-tasking. She might sound like she wasn't paying attention, but the fact was that the Captain always had her ear. While Captain de Sade did let Angel have her head with the helm she would still give orders that the Pilot would have to heed. It allowed the Captain to pick up on things the Pilot might miss.

"All aboard." As always, Alex's voice was quiet, calm and controlled. Her strides down the short steps from the landing at the door to the bridge were just as calculated as everything else. There wasn't a soul alive that had ever seen her lose control, throw caution to the wind, or cut loose.

Pale blue eyes scanned over the read outs with just as much attentive control as their owner approached everything else. Alex saw nothing to comment on so after she set her rapier into a customized holder that was within easy reach, she slid into the captain's chair. It sat on a raised dais above the hardwood floor of the bridge. Here were the plush accommodations Mr. Kane had expected in the mess hall. Alex's chair was quilted leather padding dyed a deep red. The frame was thick by necessity to encase the wires, gears and mono-filaments that allowed her to take control of the comm, the helm, and to a certain degree the engines if need be. It was all frosted black metal except for the actual control panels that were set into the arms of the chair. Teak wood that was polished and coated with thick, clear resin all but shone by itself housed the touch pads that were her controls, framed in brass that was delicately etched with scrolling ivy and grape leaves. Some captains sat in their chair during the pre-flights and followed along with their pilots. Alex only did that if requested or in the case of an emergency.

The chair wasn't the only impressive looking item in the bridge of The William. The helm was made of the same black metal frame but lacked the teak and brass touches. There wasn't enough room on the surfaces for such decorations, as the controls needed to be reached without hindrance. Timing could be critical so any obstacle that made a pilot's fingers fumble even for a moment could mean the difference between a smooth landing and one that could jar the crews' teeth loose or worse. Controls were set in three sections: Heading and Flight Control, Power, and Systems Monitor/Communications.

The Pilot sat in a chair only slightly less comfortable than the Captain's. It possessed a lower back and swiveled to allow the Pilot to reach every console with ease. The whole assembly faced a wide windshield that was sectioned into thirds. Layered faceting on the edges by the frames allowed the same glass polymer used in the chrono-engine to disperse wind shear while it increased aesthetic appeal.

"So?" Angel never looked away from her consoles as she asked the nebulous question. She was perhaps one of the few people who could get away with tweaking Captain Alex. Geri lacked the sense of humor, but he also followed Captain Alex like a dedicated guard dog.

Alex arched a slender brow at her Pilot's back. The corners of her lips pulled down a little. What was Angel up to now? "So?" She was pretty certain she knew what Angel wanted to know, but Alex didn't feel like playing guessing games right now.

The truth was her nerves were wound a bit tight at the moment. This would be the maiden voyage for the Naviwerks' chrono-ship as The William's Hunt. She knew the ship was fully operational, even beyond what the corporation found acceptable. She had higher standards than they did, but she, Geri, and Angel had made more than a few modifications that would set The William apart. Those modifications could interfere with a great many of functions that could jeopardize the ship's first pirate flight, and that worry rested heavily upon her regardless of how many reassurances Angel and Geri had fed her after the test runs they had made. But it was her second concern that she felt Angel wanted information about, and she was rewarded for her obstinacy when Angel next spoke.

"So," Angel emphasized the simple word and glanced over her shoulder. It allowed the Captain to see her cheeky expression. "What's he like? This Mr. Kane." She turned back to her controls when a pre-flight check chimed out to indicate that all was green for that function. "All I know is the information you gave us. Which, if you don't mind my saying so, told those of us who lack even a rudimentary understanding of Horotechnology a whopping nothing on the man by way of filling a couple of pages with blathering details." She tsked and shook her head as her clever fingers locked in the finished pre-flight check. "Such a tease, Cap."

Alex didn't mind Angel's familiar ways. In fact, they rather amused her. So long as her Pilot kept such a lack of respect confined to the bridge and just between them, Alex allowed it to continue. Angel had proven that with an audience she gave her Captain as much if not more respect than anyone else. As such, Alex never felt the need to assert her authority. It also helped that the two women had known each other since before Alex was recruited by Naviwerks, back when both of them had been serving as pilots in the Nationalist Air Force. Angel was the better of the two, yet Alex had been the one that Naviwerks had wooed while Angel went on to pilot Hummingbird class ships for a small charter company that ferried goods and passengers up and down the coast.

That amusement tugged at Alex's lips. She had known that her crew wouldn't be satisfied with the information she had given them about their new Horotech. But how exactly did one describe Mr. Kane? Mousy? Timid? Those were not reassuring qualities for someone who could strand them all inside a wormhole, so she had made the decision to let the crew learn of him through the time-honored tradition of personal interaction aboard ship.

She won a bet that she had placed with herself on who would be the most annoyed. Angel's curiosity was tenacious, so Alex decided she would let the Pilot off the hook a little bit and gave her an edge over the others.