Ian followed Theobald swiftly, not much surprised by his sudden command of authority.
He had expected as much from an OS&C Captain, with his well kept appearance and corporate airs.
Indeed, everything about Ian -- from his long-ish gingery hair,
to his leather bomber jacket, and worn out jeans -- gave no sign of his own authority.
Stopping next to Theobald and glimpsing their faint reflection in the window,
Ian could see that the two of them looked very mismatched.
"First off, thanks for paying for my tab. There were about three glasses of Whiskey on it." he began, gazing out at his vessel. "Most people call them Pilgrim Liners, but I suppose a common name isn't much to go on."
He allowed himself a chuckle, and continued with the air of an excited child. "The hull is about 600 years old, give or take. As are some of the internal systems. As early as the later part of the fourth century A.S. they were still pretty common.
Very tough vessels, though they offered little in the way of comforts back then. Most of them still aren't very pretty inside, if I'm honest. Although the outside gives it away.
All that surface rust... " He laughed, turning to Theobald. "But yeah, they fell out of use as trade lanes and such started being built. Most of them drifted for a couple centuries
before folks like us Junkers found them.
This one here was drifting in Puerto Rico when we found her...almost flawless.
We flew her back to our shipyard under her own power. Retrofitted the interior to modern standards, updated her systems...all of that stuff.
You'll find that this particular one is quite luxurious inside."
He trailed off, suddenly looking embarrassed.
"I wish I could say for sure what your vessel is without having to ask, but..."
His voice softened. "Well, she is rather mangled...but we'll have her good as new soon enough."
He gave Theobald a pained look. Anyone could tell that he felt Theobald's pain too.
