Trapped Sparrow

The Engineer

The silence could have killed. At first she wasn't sure if they would accept it, but in an almost unanimous cheer the whole crew reacted with joy and happiness. "Welcome to the Ship, Engineer!" "Thought it was about time we got one!" "There ya go!"

Except for the woman, she was obviously not happy about this turn out. "What?! That? That is our new engineer!?" the woman exclaimed incredulously.

Standing up Berdi skittered over to them. "You know, she is right. I mean I know nothing of dirigibles and anything about running things. I am just a newsie."

"Ah! But you are a newsie without a cockney accent. That is saying something."

Berdi looked taken aback. "Well, I had to do that, it's hard for a girl to be a newsie, if you have a clearer voice, the customers take you more seriously. And besides most of my family doesn't have a cockney accent, we just don't."

"I knew I picked right." The captain replied with determination as he started to walk up to the galley. Most of the crew had left by this time and it was just the captain, the woman, and Berdi. Berdi was sure that this sprite of a man was completely insane.

"I still vote for throwing her overboard."

"Now, my dear First Mate, you know that would kill her We are thousands of feet over the ocean right now."

"And that would be a bad thing?" the first mate asked with contempt.

"Are you denying that we need an engineer?"

"No." the first mate replied grudgingly.

"Come! To the bridge!"

"Wait a minute!" the first mate rounded onto Berdi. "Here are the rules, Captain is god, mind it well, the only reason you live is because of the captain. I am the first mate, if Captain is god, than I am the god damn pope, you hear me? You will refer to the Captain, only as Captain. You will only refer to me as First Mate. You will have yes sir, yes ma'am after every time you address us or you will find yourself being thrown into the ocean. Got it, girl?"

"Uhh, yes ma'am." Came the sheepish reply.

The first mate eyed her suspiciously. Turning around to the captain, "Still don't trust her. She could be a spy or a very big liability. The more I look at her, the more I am sure that she is just a liability. I am not going pay in trouble or any monetary value for her. She is not needed. We can pick up a real engineer in Barbuda."

Throughout this whole time Berdi was following behind them as they talked. She wasn't sure how she got into this situation, but she knew that she had to find a way to get out of it.

"She is very controllable. Watch." replied the captain, "Engineer, what do you think of the first mate?"

"I have a name you know. A right and proper one, I will not be..." Berdi started to say but was cut off in mid-sentence when the group walked into a spacious room that had to be the bridge. It was a deck that opened up over the whole ship with a huge glass front, so that as you stood there you felt that you were flying in the clouds. Berdi was amazed by the natural sunlit glitter and astonishing architecture of the ship alone. Looking along the window, you could see the ropes and masts that were connected to the huge metal balloon that held the ship afloat.

"That does not mean that she is controllable. It just means that she has never been on a ship before."

"Nope. Watch." continued the captain as he was showing off. "Engineer, what do you think of the Trapped Sparrow?"

"It's amazing, and just so beautiful and wow! Is that made out of crystal or glass? And what about the wheel is that made of ebony? And...."

"Engineer, look." Said the captain as he held a beautiful necklace that draped down into a y with a very small pretty sapphire heart at the bottom.