Dustport is one of the biggest cities in the country and is the centre of all trade routes. It also happens to be in the centre of the Endless Canyons, located in the middle of the Qison Desert, A recent hot spot for bandits.
"So tell me again: how did the canyons get their name?"
"The bottom of the canyons are covered in a thick mist, so you can't actually see all the way down. When they were first discovered, people thought that there was no bottom," David informed, sounding like he was reciting the fact from a book, "does that count as an answer, Mitch?"
"Yeah, that just about covers it," he replied.
The crew had been travelling for 2 days straight, stopping only for food brakes and sleep. Earlier that day they entered the Desert.
"Before we get to Dustport, we need to repair our ship," said David, "luckily, there's an engineer that owns an Inn just outside of the canyons, and he-"
"We talked about the engineer 2 days ago, remember?" Interrupted Alex, "And didn't you say he was located in Dustport?"
"I did?"
"Yeah, you did."
"Well in that case, I lied. He owns an Inn called The Rusty Motor located just outside of the canyons, and we should be arriving there in a couple of hours. Also, feel free to ask me anything about him."
"I've got a question: why does he owe you one?" Asked Mike, remaining silent up until now.
"Don't ask such personal questions, Mike! Haven't you heard about manners before?"
Eventually, The Rusty Motor came into view, getting closer and closer like an island in the ocean. It was located on a naturally forming pillar, and was just on the edge of the Endless canyons. The inn itself was a large multi-story wooden building, with a large port with a series of branching jetties, an observation deck jutting out from the third floor, and what looked like a shed around the back of the pillar that seemed large enough to dock a ship inside of.
Once they arrived, they docked their ship in at the port just like every other ship. But instead of walking straight into the place though, they took a side path that lead to the shed on the far side of the pillar. They went inside and were treated by the sight of piles of mechanical parts and the smell of grease and oil. Standing among the mess was a short, round man facing away from the crew.
"Can't you read the signs?!" He bellowed out, before starting towards the surprised crew, "the repair shop is currently closed! You'll have to come back tomorrow, you stupid-" He cut short when he saw David standing there. He took off the goggles he had been wearing, before blinking a few times as if to make sure the image before him was real, "is that you, David?"
"You bet it is!" David replied before shaking hands with the man, "how're you doing, Marcus? Business going well?"
"I'm doing great, thank you! And yes, the Business is going splendid! I've started hiring because of how much work there is! Bandits have been a bit of a problem, but it's been manageable! What are you doing in this part of the world?"
"We were just on our way to Dustport for some new artillery and decided to drop in. We were wondering if you could do some repair works for us. Got into a bit of a battle a few days ago, nearly lost it. But in the end, we made it out alive."
"Well, that's good to hear! But before I take a look at your ship, would you mind if you introduced your crew to me? I'm sure they must feel very left out in the conversation!"
"Oh yes, certainly!" He turned around to face the crew, "guys, this is Marcus, an old friend of mine. Marcus, this is my crew: Alex the gunner,"
"Nice to meet ya!" She said in response.
"And my two engineers, Mike and Mitch."
"How do you do?" They responded simultaneously.
"It's lovely to meet all of you!" Marcus replied, "now, let's take a close at your ship!"
Marcus and David headed to the port to take a closer look at the damage on the bow.
"Ahh, she is a beautiful ship, isn't she?" Complimented Marcus, stroking the side.
The Investigator wasn't the most complex ship, but it got the job done. The hull was modelled straight from an 18th century sailing ship, in fact the hull was an 18th century sailing ship's, modified to fit engines and boilers. The balloon was inside of a reinforced frame, connect to the hull by thick steel cables. Cannons and turrets had been built in, with 3 on either side (one below deck the others on top) and a main cannon on the front. The original paint job was black and gold, now peeled away from old age and many battles. It was a miracle that the original hull still remained.
"After inspection, I can confidently say that your hull needs serious attention."
"Yeah, I think we figured that out after the battle," David dryly said.
"Just bring it around to the shed and I'll start work on it tomorrow. Now about your method of payment..." Marcus started.
"Ah, remember the..?" David cut short his sentence, putting his index finger up to his nose.
"Oh yes, I remember that," Marcus replied, "that was a good day, wasn't it?"
"Yes, it was, wasn't it?" David chuckled. Marcus chuckled along with him.
While the two friends inspected the ship, Alex, Mitch and Mike got a room for the night.
"Hey, do you guys wanna play 'guess what numbered room we're gonna' get'?" Asked Mike, handing over the money for the room to the receptionist, "the person who gets the closest gets to choose their bed first!"
"Sure, I'm guessing 34." Answered Alex.
"45 for me." Mitch added.
The receptionist handed over the keys to Mike. "Well, we have room 39, so I guess Alex wins!"
Alex cheered in delight before grabbing the keys off of Mike, "I get to pick my bed first, so I vote that I head up first! You boys can take our luggage!"
Mitch let out a long groan, "sometimes, I just can't stand her attitude towards everything."
Mike just shrugged, "She could be worse," He suggested, "Besides, we get to relax for a couple of days. That isn't that bad, right?"
"Yeah, I guess so," Mitch agreed. He grabbed some luggage before starting towards the stairs, "And it's not like anything bad is going to happen, right?"
"Right!" Responded Mike before grabbing the rest of the luggage, "A couple of days of relaxation without any stress is going to be great!"
YOU ARE READING
Journal of a Captain
Ciencia Ficción'David was the captain of the airship Investigator, and had so been for 5 years. Over that time, David had learnt a lot about being a captain of a ship. He learnt to respect his crew, as that would improve their quality of work and decrease the chan...
