Away and Afar

by PropsValroa

Chapter 1

A sudden jolt disturbed Collapse from her slumber. She knew that it was just another big wave hitting the boat, just like the other dozen times she was woken up like this. Boats has their perks, she knew that much. Having a paying job for one, especially when it was similar to what she loved doing.

The ocean interrupting her sleep however was not one of these perks. It made her feel like yelling at the ocean just to get it to stop was a brilliant idea, even though she knew it was not.

Well, she was awake now, better make good use of it. She'd need to help keep the ship in top performance if they were to make it to uncharted lands after all. Very different from their usual routes. More dangerous too. Anything could be out there. Both the bad and the amazing.

Collapse awakens, feeling like a bolt of lightning had just went through her with how sudden the jolt was. Quite honestly it scared her like all the other times. With a quiet sigh she opened her eyes and stretched, feeling her legs under the covers of the sheets. Part of her wanted to go back to sleep, but she knew that wouldn't have been a good idea. Collapse slowly exited the bed and haphazardly made the covers.

After exiting her small quarters that were within the captain's personal area of the ship it reminded her that the captain had allowed her to have her space here. Collapse would proceed to grab her small tool bag, and her other materials for her tasks.

Walking down to the engine room Collapse proceed to give the Mana-Drive a scan with one of her devices to make sure it was in working order, among other various checks to make sure it was operating how it should and that nothing was going wrong. She also would check the other machinery in the engine room to make sure that was in working order as well.

Various crew members greeted her casually along her path as they walked to their intended destinations, not even staying to chat. It's for the best though, everyone here has work to do, so chatting is usually reserved for when you're busy or having a break.

Within the engine room, her scans of the drive showed the usual minor signs of maintenance to be done. Energy reserves recharge, loosened pipes or screws for part of the engine, jostled by the constant ocean waves. Day to day stuff that is easily fixed. The ship's boiler seemed in fine working order.

The large metal machine was built to be extra sturdy, barely needing maintenance at all. Still, checking it is important. Showers are a vital part of living after all. Everything else seems in fine order as well. Only a few... some... half of the parts and tools she keeps around the place were scattered about. Damn ocean waves. Why were the boxes not nailed down anyway? There was a knock at the door. Probably one of the other workers with her morning meal. Going to the dining hall was a hassle when her workplace was on the other end of the ship.

Collapse casually greeted the members of the crew back. While she loved to talk, work always came first. Upon her inspections of the engine room she would begin by tightening up the loosened screws first with her screwdriver. Next came the tightening of the pipes with the clamps.

After she tightened the screws and the pipes she would perform a secondary check to make sure that they were tightened and that she didn't miss anything. She didn't, which was great. Checking the boiler, it seemed to be fine. But not that she wouldn't double check. While double checking seemingly mundane tasks would take more time, it was for the best.

After all, eyes and ears are only so accurate once. After checking and making sure that everything was in working order she had fixed some minor things here and there which took a little while she would look over to the boxes. "I really should have fixed that. Well, they say now is the best time. Present is a gift...that's why its the present..." she muttered quietly under her breathe as her golden magical aura enveloped the tools and began to organize them back into the boxes.

A few minutes of organizing later, she would locate some straps and strapped the boxes to the wall so they wouldn't spill out over the floor next time. It amazed Collapse she missed that. Collapse had labeled the boxes so that other workers knew where specific tools were. Oh well, its fixed now. Upon hearing the knock in the door Collapse's golden aura would wrap around the knob and open the door for the worker. "Come in." she says with a little bit of a sing-song cheerful manner.

As soon as she opened the door she saw not one of the workers, but Captain Magloria. She didn't usually come down here. Her work was up on the top of the ship, maintaining the ship's course or charting the waters. As soon as Collapse spoke, Magloria let out a sigh.

"Collapse, once again you left this behind." she said, bringing forth what appears to be a dull looking lantern in her telekinetic hold. "I know you can see just fine with your magic, but the ship has protocols for a reason. This is for your own safety." she added.

Magloria has insisted that she keep a separate light source with her whenever she went into engineering. Something about if the mana links to all the lights went out and she was too distracted to use her own magic? Seemed too situational to be worth the trouble. During the conversation, one of the workers arrived and patiently waited outside, a tray of steaming something on his back. He knew not to enter when there was something more important happening, especially when it concerned the captain.

Collapse straightened up upon seeing Magloria. She stood up straight and looked her dead in the eye as she spoke, listening. Collapse didn't make a sound. Perhaps that was a little over the top there but Collapse wanted Magloria to know that she understood and would obey what she was saying. She looks to the lantern and gently grabbed it with her telekinetic field. "My apologies." Collapse states with an apologetic bow.

More akin to a butler if anything. "I was awoke suddenly by a large wave so I didn't have time to grab it, so I went here to make sure everything was up to snuff. Next time, I'll put it closer to my bed so I see it when I wake up. Thank you for informing me of this." Collapse said with an almost nervous, yet sweet grin.

Magloria was a mysterious sort in Collapse's eyes. It both made her nervous, yet also had an enticing element to it. It was very interesting, for Collapse. Collapse glanced over at the worker with the steaming tray on his back. She was getting hungry by the second at the mere sight of that.

Magloria didn't seem to lessen her stance, based on Collapse's reaction. She's seen others do the same thing in order to try and let something slip by. "See to it that you remember, or I'm going to have to start dishing out punishments for it. Don't forget to ask the others if you've forgotten something, newbie." she huffed as she turned away, walking straight past the worker without even a glance.

"Your uhh... breakfast." the worker offered, setting the tray down on a bench before turning to leave as well. Breakfast looked like a bowl of cinnamon oatmeal. It was the same thing as yesterday, but at least it was hot. The mornings can be quite cold at times.

Deep down that stuck a bolt in Collapse's heart, she knew that Magloria was formal but that seemed a little harsh in her eyes. She was a little hurt by that but knew that she herself forgot what was important so she only had herself to blame. She sighed after the worker left and did a small nod in thankfulness. Unlike the other times, Collapse didn't speak back to the worker. So whatever happened between her and Magloria soured Collapse's mood.

Collapse looks down at the bowl and lifts it in her magic. She wasn't going to risk carrying it anywhere in the hallways, not when there lay the possibility of other waves hitting the boat. Would only spell more trouble. She was a bit saddened by the fact that she was alone here.

Other times she would have ate here with others, or even up in the mess hall. But this time, she felt it fitting that she would sit alone and eat her oatmeal. It was hot, which was a silver lining this situation at hoof. Collapse sat down and used one of the empty boxes as her table for the oatmeal. She would savor the taste and eat in silence.