Jess and Morgan caught their flight, traveling to Chico where they would disembark and make the rest of the journey on horseback. Currently, they were talking amongst themselves on the top deck.

“That armor you got, it’s good alright, but you might find regular leather more to your liking,” Morgan said with an air of authority, Jess was practically taking notes. “The most agile people swear by full leather. Problem is, there’s no way to tell until you actually fight. Got a magical mutation, Jess?”

“Yes, I’m pretty good at old magic.”

“A primordial user, yeah? It's very fitting that you're both agile and a practitioner of the old school, it’s a good combo you got there.”

Morgan flicked her short platinum hair back with one hand. She was leaning against the rails, protected by the windshields all around on the first deck.

“What do you mean? A good combo?”

“Since you use short distance spells, you gotta get up and personal. Being agile or strong will help you with that. In fact, the best of the best spellslingers were all quick reflex primordial users.”

Jess tried to envision it in her head. Reflex mutations were all around good by themselves, but combined with the instantaneousness of primordial magic that already had the fastest windup of all magics…

“Makes sense, that would be a deadly combo—as you say. What’re your mutations, Morgan?”

“Of course, I’m a helios user. But more than that I’ve got the blessing of strength, and this white hair.. That’s how I can wield this heavy mace like a man, how I can carry all this armor as a woman—well, half woman. I have true hermaphroditism.”

Jess had heard of this, it wasn’t all that uncommon. “That’s when you have—uh, both parts?”

She nodded her head, saying, “I have both a penis and vagina, and they both work, Hahaha!”

“How does that work? Did you choose to be a girl? How do you… keep from getting pregnant?” Jess’s interest had peaked, clear on her face.

“Woah, one question at a time now!” Morgan laughed. “I looked most like a woman, even as a girl, so people see me as a woman,” she shrugged. “I don’t really care myself, it doesn’t matter.”

Jess blushed, thinking, she’s so open about it… and here I am getting embarrassed again! “What about—accidentally getting yourself pregnant?”

“I got myself snipped when I hit puberty, that’s what normally happens to us.”

“Oh—” Of course that’s what they do, idiot! Jess had to stop herself from hiding her face, instead, she turned around while she took a deep breath.

“It’s reversible, of course. When I was a teen I started taking hormones under doctor's recommendation. And when I got to the Academy, well, they undid most of that with their own special concoctions.”

“What’d they do at the Academy, now?”

“They give you all sorts of drugs to enhance your abilities, with various side effects to them. They work best when you're young, that’s why they recruit when you're only thirteen. Albeit, the Salamander is the only one that does it.”

“Like what?” What’d she say?

“Alchemy, the science of mixing herbs together, can make someone temporarily strong or permanently enhance them. They teach this at Shrines…”

“Oh, oh yes! Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts for a moment!” Stupid! Pay attention! Jess took a drink of her beer, complimentary on the flight.

“Hey, Jess, do you like women?”

Jess nearly spit out her drink, swallowed it down the wrong hole, and started in a coughing fit… “What! Sorry!”

Morgan smiled, showing her white teeth, and slapped Jess’s back.

“I swing for women, personally. It’s why I came all the way to the Western Territory, I always have and wanted to be accepted. Not that they don’t treat most women as second class citizens still, but you know what I mean.”

Jess backed away and straightened her clothes out, saying in a small voice, “I don’t know… maybe? I never got a chance to… you know. You made the trip all the way here just because of that?”

“It’s not just something to me, it means a lot. I was tired of hiding from everyone, and I’d rather die than go back to living a lie.”

“I guess I know I like girls, but have never acted on it…”

“Say, Jess, wanna go share a bed?” Morgan took a step forward and grabbed her hand with a warm smile.

Jess looked into her eyes and got lost. “I…”

The ship shook violently left and right, and two attendants came up the stairs. “Grab onto something!” One of them yelled.

“What’s going on!” Morgan yelled back.

“We’re making a crash landing! Bandits!”

Morgan looked out the window right behind her and stared upwards, saying, “I’ll be damned, bandits.”

Jess, put her hands to the windows and looked out. Above them in the sky was another Airship, the side of it having various street graphitis.

“Did they pop the balloon?” Morgan asked one of the attendants.

“No, and I doubt they will. Usually, they strand the people on the ship and take it, popping it would take costly repairs.”

Jess looked at Morgan to see her face. She was smiling. It was a knowing sort of smile. “I take it they're communicating by radio to the captain?”

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

Morgan didn’t answer, but reached to her right side into her holster, pulling out that thing from before… the electronic device. Jess knew what it was, it wouldn’t even be a stretch to say it was a symbol of status. Anyone who had one was someone.

The device itself was bright orange and yellow in a rugged case, several holes in the thing projected a blue hologram out of it like it was doing right now. Controls on the side allowed you to navigate through the menus, as best as Jess could tell.

Jess leaned in close to Morgan—trying to get a good look at it. “So that’s your Multitool, huh?”

Morgan selected the radio feature, a static noise came out of the device. “This is Morgan of the Salamander. You just hijacked the wrong Airship, friends. Why don’t you put whoever’s in charge on, I’ve got a proposal.”

“This is the head honcho you’re speaking to, Morgan. What do you have to say?”

“You’re looking at my radio signal right now, you see it’s coming from a Multitool. This is no bluff. If you don’t turn around right now, my partner and I will take out your ship, straight out of the sky. If you somehow force us to land, we’ll kill all seven of your crew. You have five minutes before I shoot.”

Jess and the two attendants looked on with their jaws hanging loose, unable to understand what they’d just heard.

Morgan looked out the window, watching the bandits—more like pirates than that. Jess stepped up next to her and said in a whisper: “Is this gonna work?”

“Maybe, maybe not. Depends on how many resources they’ve got to spare, how important their lives are to them, and how desperate they are. They're probably looking for easy pickings but now their lives are in danger.”

No sooner than she’d said it, Jess saw the opposing Airship tilt away from them, heading down into the forest below them.

Jess breathed a sigh of relief, clutching her chest. So she’s strong and street smart.

Morgan grabbed her hand in hers. Jess blushed hard, embarrassed.

“Where were we?”

Jess could feel the stares of the attendants on her face and gave them the stink eye. They quickly walked away.

“Now doesn’t feel like the right time…”

“You have all the time in the world to decide,” Morgan winked.

What an emotionally intelligent person, Jess thought. She read my mind…

Morgan leaned in and pecked her cheek, Jess feeling her soft lips for just a moment. They felt good and right.

“I’m going to check on the captain,” Morgan said, walking away.

Jess felt the spot where she was kissed and found a seat to sit down in, a melting pot of emotions inside her, she wants to sort them out.