Don't call it a clunker

[dodgyallround]

It had taken months of hard work, a fact which would have had some of the clan loudly wondering what Xigbar considered to be hard work, but they'd finally been able to afford an airship. Still, the budget had been a little restricted, and the nefarious purposes Xigbar had in mind meant that he'd gone for the ability to hide things over mere

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[gotitmemorised]

"This heap is a total clunker," Axel said, standing in the main cockpit room and staring out of the window at the rolling clouds before them.

He stood with his arms folded and his head tilted to one side in thought -- mostly those concerning how long he'd live while riding Xigbar's latest mechanical purchase. He idly transferred his weight to his other leg and glanced to Noir. Well, if anybody seemed comfortable, that weird thing did.

In his opinion, the ship could have been worse. Xigbar could have really skimped and bought an even worse deathtrap, but it could still be better. It could have been good to begin with rather than needing to be built from the ground up with almost all but the hull replacing. It was only down to luck that Deidara's sister happened to be a first-class mechanic and even she'd despaired at the sight and age of the salvaged rust bucket when first showed to it. Firefly Class, apparently. More like Greenfly Class. Gnat class. Caterpillar class

1/2

[dodgyallround]

"You wanna talk like that, kiddo, you know where the exits are." Xigbar was happy with the ship. Even though everyone else had their reservations, and he knew that it would have been easier to simply get a newer model, he liked this one. She had a few years on her, and she was still fighting.

Not to mention that nobody with any common sense was going to look at something they considered a clapped out old rustbucket and immediately think it was being used for smuggling, or, for that matter, transporting dangerous ryoka. They'd expect something a bit newer, a bit faster...

... a lot less likely to break down.

But in the hands of the right pilot, and with a decent mechanic, this little gem would do more than simply service them.

Xigbar wasn't daft. The others could grumble all they liked, though Xigbar reserved the right to threaten to let them off in midair, but they'd see, in time, that she was a good little ship.

2/2

[noirdiem]

"If everyone who thought this ship was a deathtrap walked off it, you'd crash," Noir said. Flying, even in gravity, came easily to it, but it had been more than a little skeptical when it had seen the ship. It would have preferred something significantly faster, and that was reliable enough to be able to make even a short journey without a fully qualified and tooled up mechanic on board.

In other words, not this. This was a flying coffin.

But at least it was flying. Noir disliked being terrabound, and it liked being simultaneously grounded even less. It was one thing to be unable to leave a planet. To rely on its own feet, or the transport of others while there was humiliating and uncomfortable.

Noir liked to be able to up and leave at a moment's notice. On that front, this ship was an improvement.

Though admittedly not a vast one.

[gotitmemorised]

"You're pretty alone in thinking this piece of crap ship is a worthy investment, you know." He pointed out, almost grinning when Noir almost agreed.

Noir was, as far as he was concerned, pretty creepy but when it agrees with you... eh, he couldn't complain. Any backup was better than none, even if it amounted to absolutely nothing.

"What's this job, anyway?" He asked, looking at the... well, he figured he must be the 'captain', but if Xigbar wanted to be called that, he'd better be prepared to experience disappointment.

[dodgyallround]

Xigbar didn't let the denigration of his ship rankle him. It would be called worse things, anyway.

As to Axel's question, he answered, with a completely serious expression, "The secret importation of illicit goods." He looked at Axel, and said, "But you'd probably call it s-m-u-g-g-l-i-n-g." Literally, in the case of Axel, and he'd call it that after saying the word, and finish up by saying 'got it memorized'.

Axel was mocking his ship, so Xigbar was in the mood to mock Axel's annoying verbal tics.

[gotitmemorised]

"If you mean smuggling, say smuggling. Got i--.. Nah, that'd be too easy." He said, waving him away with one hand and turning his back to the windows.

If nothing else, the ship had a damn good view, but it was a bit much for too long and it made him feel a little bit on the motion sick side. Cloud movement was never his... thing.

"How long before we get there?" He asked, only half aware of where they were going. "And which city is it?"

He couldn't quite shake the chilling memory of the empty city he'd almost ended up in.

1/2

[dodgyallround]

Xigbar gave Axel a rough shove in the shoulder. "Don't test me," he said, though it sounded like an entirely friendly warning. Unlike Axel, the view of clouds outside, and slightly bumpy journey didn't bother him one bit. There wasn't much room for motion sickness when your battle trick was warping space and gravity. Xigbar continued to watch the view quite happily.

"We're heading to Celapaleis. It's a big place; easy to get lost in." Ideal. "Shouldn't be more than a quarter hour away, right?" That last was a question, and he directed it at Noir.

2/2

[noirdiem]

"If we're in the sky long enough," Noir agreed. It had done its research, and it was willing to bet Xigbar had, too, even if he wouldn't readily admit it. Celapaleis was a good spot for the kind of business Xigbar was undertaking. Still, Noir didn't fancy hanging around for too long, just out of its usual sense of cautiousness.

"We'll be seeing it soon. I don't want to travel higher than necessary." Otherwise they'd already be able to see it as a blotch in the distance.

[gotitmemorised]

Axel gave Xigbar a glare at the shove, but it was good natured enough. Well, unless you knew him, anyway. If you happened to be able to catch the slight and subtle facial changes, it wouldn't be difficult to see the slight threat there, not that he'd have done anything.

"Have any of you been to Jylland before?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

He didn't know about Noir, but it was a distinct possibility, he supposed. Xaldin hadn't, but he was busy doing paperwork in the living area and wasn't in a position to volunteer his answer and he was fairly sure that Xigbar hadn't either. Oh great.

1/2

[dodgyallround]

"Nope," Xigbar answered, and seemed entirely unconcerned about it. He didn't plan on sticking around for long here, anyway. Pick up the cargo, buy a couple of parts, and jet right back out again.

2/2

[noirdiem]

"No," Noir answered, watching as the city came into view, "but Celapaleis is popular with tourists and those not from the purvama, so our ignorance will not stand out."

Noir had made very sure to do its research.

1/2

[gotitmemorised]

Axel was slightly glad of that. The last time he'd really been in Jylland, he'd been in the 'care' of the Ba'Gamnan siblings which was a scenario that he'd prefer not to have revisit.

"Right, right." He answered, shrugging.

As long as they didn't hang around too long. He didn't want to end up being 'cargo' again.

2/2

[sixdragonspears]

Xaldin made his way to the cockpit area, looking less unimpressed with the ship than one might imagine. He didn't exactly look joyful, but he didn't look like he was worrying that his life hung in the balance like Axel was.

"Let's hope that this job is over and done with quickly," he said, his voice almost a growl. "What is the destination of the cargo you're transporting?"

He directly addressed Xigbar. Taking an illegal thing on board to put it somewhere else at the client's request was all well and good, but only if they wouldn't have it lingering for too long.

[dodgyallround]

Xaldin's utter seriousness and perennial bad mood tickled Xigbar. He was living proof that some things never changed.

"For now, that's a detail that hasn't been settled. It will be before we take off," he said, anticipating the strong wave of disapproval that would come from Xaldin. "Because if it isn't, I'm dropping it in the first big city we fly over, and he can arrange the rest of his journey from there." Once Xigbar had been paid, anyway.

[sixdragonspears]

Xaldin folded his arms across himself. It was an action that seemed to nearly increase his size and if the person he was facing was somebody who found themselves easily intimidated, that would certainly work. Xigbar... was probably exempt.

"Very well," he said grumpily, his frown deepening. "You should arrange that sort of thing ahead of time."

There was a definite huff to go with that.

[dodgyallround]

Xigbar was exempt, but only because he was that kind of person. He'd known Xaldin long enough to be used the folded arm deal, and the effect it had. That, combined with the huff, wasn't unexpected, but it still amused Xigbar.

"You can always skip out on the next one." He didn't say that because he wanted Xaldin to skip out on it, but because he didn't want to get whined at if he took a job from someone who hadn't worked out all their details yet in the future. "I got the impression this dude was in kind of a hurry." Which made him, potentially, very easy pickings, if Xigbar felt so inclined.