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Smoke rises in the room, as steel bursts and steam spews. Screams of the burnt or the cut send shivers down my spine. I could become them at any moment. Crawling low, I see the uniforms of the coal shovelers, charred and sliced by the steel fragments that are all over the floor. Crawling forward, it becomes difficult to avoid both the raging fire and the billowing smoke. My skin is so darkened by the coal, it's impossible to tell if I'm looking at my hands, or if the smoke has really gotten so low. Looking around, it seems that all the exits are closed. The floor hatch is covered with a crate of solid fuel, and the reinforced door is jammed shut. The latch to open that damned thing is bent way out of line, and my burnt hands won't be able to do anything to help. Suddenly, another loud blast comes from my rear. It blows a hole through a wall, leaving me a chance to finally escape. Crawling turns to running, which in turn becomes a fear-driven sprint for salvation. Moving through the jagged metal wound, I fall into the next room, in front of a few bewildered sailors.

"In the name of the Heavens! Lad, are you alright?" A pale-faced man grabs me, and I pull myself up from the cold steel floor, aching from the sudden shock of this all.

"I-I'm fine. The rest are all gone, the boiler has burst. Get somebody to put it out, or the whole damn ship will fill with smoke." He nods, before calling out to his fellow sailors.

"Get damage-control, now! Tell them to bring masks and water, plenty of it! Go!" Two sailors runoff, moving to get aid asap. "Come on, we need to bring you to the captain and his first mate. He'll need all he can know about this." I wasn't going to refuse. It was the least I could do. With the helping hand of a fellow sailor, I am brought up several flights of stairs, all the while the men from damage control rush to the ongoing inferno. With a knock on the door, the room to the bridge is opened. "Here, take a seat, get some rest. Captain, I brought a survivor from the blast. Permission to return to station?" The captain waves his hand, and the sailor runs off.

Standing, the captain puts a pipe in his mouth, letting it pierce through his greying beard as he peers out the window, seeing the clouds pass by the ship as the sun shines through the glass. "This is the second boiler burst I've had on this airship in three months. Two times. Sailor, tell me your name."

"Smith, sir." I try to sit up straight, but it's painful. Still, I try to keep up appearances with the officers. It's better to look good than like a thug.

"What happened? Tell me in detail, I think I might know the cause."

Closing my eyes, I put my coal-coated hands on my head, and breathed deeply. "We were operating Boiler Room No.3 as usual, running the coal as ordered. Nothing was out of the ordinary, and it seemed like just another day. Suddenly, we heard an odd hissing sound, and the boiler burst. We all were dazed, and then the furnace started to overheat. It made the boiler spew steam everywhere, and the coal shovelers were burnt and cut by the shrapnel. I only got out due to the third blast, but it opens the rest of the ship to the smoke, sir." Taking a seat, he slams his fist onto the table in front of him.

"I swear to the High-King, I'll strangle the bastards who designed those things. Joseph, is damage control dealing with this now?" The first mate nods and the captain seems to relax. "Alright. In this case, we'll keep on course. Smith, you should head to the infirmary. You're a lucky man, and a resilient one too. You're dismissed." With a weak salute, I walk from the bridge. Sometimes, I wish I could've been born a noble. No more working as a hauler, no more having near-death experiences, all of those wonderful things. Still, I have no such luck with my status. All I have is the respect of my peers, and my ability.

Walking through the airship, I still feel bewildered by what had happened. I survived that. Still, I don't feel good at all. All those men just fell. In an instant, they were cut down. I might have not known them, but they were good Ketrav men all the same. I guess the heavens were looking after me today. Accidents weren't common, but after seeing so many, I find myself somewhat apathetic to those I don't know. That is something I can't say about my fellow haulers. They're all good men, just doing what they can. We laugh, drink, play cards, and have a good time, but I really don't know anybody besides them and the officers. Guess this is what I get for being drafted instead of volunteering.

It's a confusing mess of halls and stairs in this ship, but eventually, I found my way to the infirmary. About time, I didn't feel like feeling any more pain. Seeing no doctor, I inch over to a bed before laying on it. God, I need this rest. Laying my head on the shoddy pillow, I close my eyes. Don't feel like looking at all of the horrifying medical instruments. "Doc! In the name of the Divine, I need some help over here, fast!" I hear no response. Great. I should've become a farmer instead. Maybe then I'd actually get help when I need it.

"H-Hold on, I'm coming!" That wasn't a doctor, great. Probably a nurse or something the doctor was shagging and brought onto the ship. Hopefully, she can help. "Oh... hold on, I'll get some tincture and bandages, just wait a moment." Wait, hold in the world am I supposed to just wait?

"Come on nurse, I don't feel like having my palms be nothing but blisters!"

"Nurse? Oh, shut that damned mouth of yours!" Huh? Opening my eyes, I look at the door to the medical supply room, and I see a tail sticking out of it. What? Why is there a beast-person here? "Finally, about time." She stands and walks out to me, her yellow eyes glazing over my burnt hands, and her black and brown fur sticks up when she sees the damage done to them.

"Wait, how in the Three Hells are you on this ship?" She frowns and ignores me; the Doberman girl is having none of my questionings. Putting the tincture on my hand, I grit my teeth in pain while my mind is in similar agony. Is this what we've devolved to? Has our honor devolved to letting these beasts upon our vessels? What in the world is happening? "Don't get your fur on the burns, damnit. It hurts already, I don't need you making it worse."

She ignores my comment and soon enough bandages the wounds. "There. I did it, you happy?" This uppity mongrel...

"Considering I saw four men die, and burnt my hands? No." She walks to her desk, and sits down, ignoring my comment.

"Ok. You're good to go. Head to wherever your bunking is, and get some sleep." Standing up, I walk away without thanking her. With silence in the room, I leave as she slams her fist on the table and sighs. "Damned humans." At least now I could play more poker. Wait, my hands... goddamnit.