Hinden's Mayor, Flynn Artoris, was a man beset with issues, at the best of times. He had to act as the maintainer of the status quo, before the council could spend their hours deliberating each issue thoroughly.

Stoutness about the tum, his swirling mustache (this was the honor of politics, the rare and glorious thing to be able to pride in your facial hair, rather than shave anything at a moment's notice) and thick dark brown kriffidin business suit were the dominating things you'd notice about him, aside from his pocketwatch, designed in the shape of a gear, symbolic of his role.

He was pacing the second floor of the Hinden Town Longhall, which slowly, casually rotated (each floor at a different speed) throughout the day to pass the time, as it was built on the framework of one of the central churning gears. This was the Meeting Room, a lengthy runway with chairs snug in the wall on all sides, dipped into the floor so that the person filibustering the powwow in the central runway could have a sense of status.

The council was gathering, and he was growing steadily more nervous. In his earlier years, he could've pulled this off without even breaking a sweat. But he was weary of the job--and he'd had the brilliant idea of having a child a little too late. It wasn't as if he could immediately depend on other families to supply the politically roused as their kids. It'd be ridiculous! Absurd!

"Rabblerousers. Ruckworms. Riotous!" He murmured to himself in his deep, syrupy voice as he paced the runway.

The council alone knew why he was so nervous. They were all voicing their opinions. Trying to get something done on their own terms. He thought them kind, if a little self-posessive. Elders, workmen, the lot of them had their own things to cover. If only there was a--

"HAH." Mayor Flynn stopped everyone dead with a sudden burst of laughter, followed by a satisfied, steely grin. This was met with returning smiles; everyone knew what that kind of display meant.

"There's a ship here, yeah?" He waggled a finger back and forth. "We've got kids eager to satisfy their family honor, yeah? Make something of themselves! Well, send out the postrockets! Get our best and brightest over here! This season's batch of fresh minds! The files, get the files!

"What was the name of that Wochea girl again? Telai? She's of age, right? Sure! She's always buggering about with her glider in her spare time, but she's so darned good with responsibility, we've definitely got to bring her around.

"Did you all see Trekkor recently? The kid's not very good with machines, but look at the scruff on him! He could be a politician some day. Talk about a protege--Huh? What? Okay, okay, I am digressing. But get him over here! Big issues, big problems.

"Speaking of Big Problems, you all realize that that girl Trisha has been stuck doing work for her family? No, no, I'm not inciting scandal here, don't quote me, but I figure this might be an opportunity for official town commendation. It'd help her out! Send a letter for her, too!

"And the Habbayo boy, Leonan! His father's said the boy's been listless! Needs excitement. Well, this should be enough for him. Definitely! Bring him along, the Habboyo line could use some modern-day prestige. ...No, I'm not implying anything. I mean, really, are we going to exclude anyone? Not too many left in the stack here, let's see...

"What? Tyrn? The kid from Aeloch. Hm. That's right, I agree, it wouldn't be exactly fair to deny him. He's a sturdy sort, I suppose. Definitely an asset. Mhm, excellent idea, glad I thought of it. Huh? Well, you helped. Kidding, kidding!

"Oh, hey! Bernard, the kid with the bright hair. The alchemist, what's his--Herbert, yes, thank you, Herbert's son. They were gonna go with the paperwork to keep their test fairly local. Well, I'm sure they won't mind a deviation, they like mixing things up, so let's mix things up!"

"...A-a-and, that's it, I think. That's the whole group of kids up for assignments. Nobody left out? Great!

"...What? Of course I'm not going to send them out there by themselves. The ship is here, isn't it? The pilot, what's his name? Azariah? Let me see that. Azariath... Lockthane! Right! He's an adult, right? He's even got crew, two kids, same age as our group. He's got experience! Sounds good to me. Yeah, they'll be fine. This sort of manuvering is just the thing to get on call with the bigwigs!"

The Mayor's fervor got the council jumping, summoning their assistants and the civil servants around the Hall to scurry about. One waifish little secretary ran with the compiled stationary over to the town's postrocket central control hub, a centralized building close to the hall that day or night burped steam wildly from the mass of pressurized tubes that shot out into the ground to homes all around Hinden.

-

The notes are made with wood-cut type, apart from the name, handwritten in. The secretaries' state of confusion makes the end product a slightly erratic if relatively clear read.

"DEAR (and the name of the graduate was here),

MAYOR FLYNN ARTORIS OF HINDEN TO SEE YOU, EXTREMELY URGENT. ON CALL FROM THE ECHOMITTER, TO SOUND ON DELIVERY FOR CONFIRMATION. TWO HOURS FROM THE MESSAGE, BE AT THE TOWN LONGHALL.

HINDEN TOWN LONGHALL COUNCIL"

Seal, watermark, raised edges. Very official.

-

Mayor Flynn chuckled ravenously. This was the best part of his job. He spun on the runway, and charged to the other end of the room, gripping a huge voisamp, flipping on the Town's Information Broadcast Echomitter. Not precisely rare to do, but still important!

"Now hear this! Now hear this!" He said, his thick, friendly voice repeating in a huge blast across the surface of Hinden. "Stationary has just been delivered to choice homes. Check your mailtubes for Important Stationary right this moment! Don't even give me time to blink! Get to those tubes! And I mean everybody! Over and out!"

_________________
Bleedcomics Staff Writer/Editor, , and Keeper of the Jar Brain of Secret President. RIP Ku Ku Ku \(-^.^-)/ U Wuz A REAL N***A!!!!!!!
"We're quite aware of this. BR is no happy rainbow face man. He is simply our neighborhood best fucking poster." ~ Warbear
Puff Most Epic.

"And I mean everybody! Over and out!"

Sure... everybody but me, I'm sure. Tyrn thought, slowly rolling in his cot to view the commotion in the village caused by the mayor's latest enthusiastic use of the Broadcast Echomitter. However, he noticed that he had leaned his quiver up against the mail tube after his morning excursion. Most likely the mayor hadn't even remembered that the vacant house on the edge of the village had been recently occupied, but it didn't hurt to make sure and move the quiver anyway.

The house hadn't had an occupant since before the new mail system had been installed, and as a result the installation there had been only a token, uncovered tube that had a habit of forcefully ejecting the wooden mail canisters out the front. Tyrn, of course, found the entire contraption wasteful and unnecessary. A pet project of the mayor's I'm sure, just like that broadcaster he loves so much.

After turning around to place the quiver on top of the improvisedl barrier he had set up to prevent these ejected tubes from damaging anything, Tyrn heard a loud "Shloop!" closely followed by a stinging slap to his backside. Whipping around, he noticed a postmarked canister reading URGENT in boldface letters along the length. Gritting his teeth, Tyrn composed himself and recovered the pre-typed message within. DEAR Tyrn Kaedis, ...

-

"Tyrn! Tyrn, isn't it past time for that meeting the mayor called you to?"

Tyrn sighed. Of course his mother was right, he thought, removing himself once again from the cot he habitually spent his afternoons napping in. Surely, there was no need to rush. Whatever it was, the pre-typed nature of the message suggested that several townsfolk had been invited, and this meant that in all probability there would be other latecomers. Punctuality was never a huge concern of Tyrn's; he didn't even own a clock himself. When he arrived outside the longhall, however, it seemed that most of the gathering was already present. Sticking to the shade and being as inconspicuous as possible, Tyrn made his way to the back of the rather small group, hoping that despite his height his arrival would go unnoticed.

There might have been a tizzy at Telai's household, but she was the one who received the message. Thus, she calmly confirmed delivery of the message, finished up the garment she was working on, and packed a small meal for herself (one never knew how long an extremely urgent meeting might run, after all).

For her parents, she left the summons with a short note stating what time she was leaving, and then she slipped out, hefting her glider pack onto her shoulder as she did. It was a manageable walk to the longhall, but one never knew. She might have some free time afterward, if this mysterious meeting was shorter than expected.

The walk was a calm one, giving her time to wonder at what the meeting would be about and who else might have been called. Well, there was nothing for it but to wait and see, and there was no need to be anxious on the subject. Time would tell.

When she arrived, a little bit early, she found a place to take a seat, waiting quietly for the urgent meeting to begin.

_________________

Official Forum Mom

Bernard perked up his ears as he heard the message. He listened until the part about "choice homes," and then promptly lost complete interest. He turned his attention back to his notes, and the rest of the Mayor's words could have easily been "blah blah blah blah..."

He extended his left index finger, and scanned his fingernail across his notes. This next step required the utmost concentration. Exactly one drop added to this solution would create a very rapid but controlled reaction; anything more than a drop would react violently. And he could not use his dropper; it wasn't made of the same glass that was being used for the experiment. It would melt and change the composition.

He pulled his gloves tighter; he check this vaporproof goggles; he verified the straps on his respirator; he pulled his apron up an extra inch and a half to his neck. Carefully, he lifted the beaker, and checked the level of the solution again. Then he pulled out the tube with the additive and carefully held the one next to the other, and tilted the tube carefully over the beaker. The liquid slanted towards the opening and--

"BERNARD! YOU WERE CHOSEN BY THE MAYOR!!"

*blorp*

*PFOOOM*

It was several seconds later that the thick black smoke vented from the room. Bernard stared up at the ceiling as his father came into the room wearing another set of goggles and a respirator, and quickly kneeled down beside him. "Bernard! Are you all right?" he asked, muffled by his respirator.

Bernard ached all over, having hit a number of obstacles between going from standing to inverted prone, but he checked his fingers and toes and found that he had feeling in them. "I'm okay," he said, similarly muffled. "Just a little bruised I think." He rolled to his side and pushed himself up, and his father grabbed his other arm and pulled him to his feet.

A few minutes passed wherein Bernard recuperated and Father explained what was contained in the letter they had gotten in their mailtube. Bernard's first question: "Is he mad?"

"That's no way to talk about our Mayor," Father told him chidingly, although Bernard had heard his father say similar things about the Mayor in private with Mother. Bernard rolled his eyes, and his Father cleared his throat and continued. "In any case, you must go. Clean up a bit, gather your tools and get a move on. Mustn't keep him waiting."

Bernard nodded and began to get ready.

_________________

Azariah Lockthane, On board the Horizon's Curtain

The sound of air rushing past his ears brought a joy few things could bring to a pilot, now docked at the town known as Hinden, Azariah could simply relax after a long haul. The last few days were pretty harrowing considering the recent storms, even he was hesitant to enter them in fear that he’d either damage the ship or cause the death of his crew. Below him, Az could see the busy docks, it’s workers buzzing around as they moved back and forth carrying the trade-goods they had just brought in. With this job done, he could now focus on his family heritage; The Horizon’s Curtain, his family’s pride.

Although he could’ve asked either of his crew; Ani or Rose to do it, as the captain Az felt it was his responsibility to ensure that the ship was worthy to fly, going so far as to climb up the mast and check that the mainsail mechanism was working at an efficient level. The last thing he wanted were his sails failing to open or close at the worst possible moment. The idea of plummeting to ones death appealed to Az but only of his own accord, only when there would be no responsibility or consequences to others around him. The man let out a sigh as he continued his inspection.

Early that day he had given the two girls their daily tasks, Ani had been given the task to inspect the various apparatus that kept the Horizon’s Curtain in the air while Rose was to check the supplies and make a list of needed equipment or other items that needed replacing. He did however give her permission to get the two girls some ‘luxury’ items from this port. As captain and pilot, Az felt he needed to keep the spirits of his crew up, give rewards and praise from time to time. Ani was still recovering from her ordeal while it kept Rose occupied and out of trouble.

As he descended from the main mast, Az noticed that one of the dock workers had come up to his vessel, not to admire but to deliver a message. The docks had its own assigned posting system to compensate for the fact the ships moored there weren’t always assigned the same spot. The young man eagerly handed the message after giving thanks, the man was on his way again leaving Az to the letter. It was an official message from the mayor of Hinden, a rather erratic one at that, it called upon him and his crew to be at the town’s longhall, a smile played on his lips as a small breeze ran through his long hair. Taking the letter with him, Az moved to the nearest intercom, a set a various pipes ran through the ship that allowed communication between the crew from any part of the ship.

“Ani, Rose, looks like we’ve been given an audience with the town mayor, so I’d like you both front and center top side right away, if you ladies do need to freshen up just give me a shout. We’ve got about two hours but I’d rather avoid getting there too late, after all we’ve got to represent the ship.” He shouted through the instrument, as he waited for confirmation he looked out towards the dock entrance, hopefully this job would mean they could set sail soon. Solid ground never really agreed with him.

Rose - Down below

Water, check. Food, hmm that needs to be refilled. Spare equipment... Spare equipment. Where did we leave that again?
Rose scratched the back of her head with the pen she was holding, while looking over the various crates all stashed in the cargo hold. She let out a long sigh, this work was so boring! She wanted to get off the ship, have fun at this place. What was it called again? Hidden? Something like that. Go sigh seeing, find weird stuff to buy, or even tease some men!

No, no, snap out of it. Just get this work done as fast as possible. The sooner you're done, the sooner you're allowed off the ship. She straightened up again and started to rummage through the crates. God this stuff looks so old. She wondered how old this ship really was, Az had told her that it was a family heritage. Speaking of the good captain, he was a weird fellow. A nice guy, and someone you could really have fun with. But he had a rather strange... hobby? Was that how you could describe it? Perhaps dream would be better. He kinda scared her that way, of course the strange markings on his face didn't help either. But he was a nice enough guy, letting her stay on the ship. Well, as long as she worked for him and regularly wrote letters to her home, which was kind of a drag. But hey, freedom!

Just as she opened another crate, and was greeted by a thick cloud of dust, the intercom pipes started to ramble. She could barely hear what Az had to say over he coughing fit, but could make out enough to understand the message. Why would the mayor want to talk with us? she thought while dusting herself off. Usually they only want to talk to Az. Unless... Unless my parents had somehow tracked me down and have come to get me back! Nono, that wouldn't make sense how would they know where I was? I never mention where I am in my lette- Oh hey thats where the spare parts are. She checked that off the chart, already forgotten all about the silly notion of her parents finding her.

With a smile she closed the crate again and left the chart with the item list on it, she'd finish that after this whole mayor thing. Or perhaps she would conveniently forget about it. Either way, time to get out of this dank dust hole and into some fresh air!

She made her way towards the bow of the ship, or was that stern? Aaargh these nautical terms are giving me a headache. The front of the ship! While continually dusting off her clothing, she wasn't really in the mood to go change. And it was probably nothing important anyway. If it was important, why invite the ship crew as well?

_________________

Trekkor unlocked the door to his home sighing. He noticed the letter in his mail tube, and he had heard the mayors call over the speakers, but a part of him wanted to ignore it. Hell, the majority of his brain screamed to tear it to shreds and pretend he recieved no summons. "Hell does the mayor want me for? Toaster melt down and he wants me to make him a new one? No, he sounded urgent and was telling EVERYONE to check their mail..." He walked into the dimly lit living room and called out throughout the house. "Hey ma, any idea why the mayor wants to see me?"

"No idea, but if he wants to see you, you need to go there NOW. No, not now, clean yourself up first. And shave your damned beard. Last thing you want is to be chosen as a politician." A voice called out from another room.
Trekkor let out a sigh as he rose the letter up and read it. "Says I got two hours before I got to be down there. Need any help before I go?"
"No, just get going!"
Trekkor tossed the letter down and walked over to the washroom, looking at himself in the mirror. "What idiot made it to where you couldn't have a beard if you weren't a politician?"


~~ 30 minutes of washing and shaving later(What, i'm not emoting a man taking a shower.)~~

Trekkor tied his work boots and stood up, grabbing at his work apron. "Wait..should I wear this? Screw it, i'm not wearing the welding mask, why the apron?" He grabbed his mossy arwhal skin jacket and turned on his heel walking to the door "I'm gone, i'll be back later ma."
"Did you shave?" His mom poked her head out from the kitchen, still working oon whatever she was doing in there.
"Yes, yes I shaved. Now let me go see what the mayor wants with a metalworker."
"Probably his toaster again."
"I doubt it."
Trekkor stepped out of the house, pulling the door behind him. "Got an hour and a half...May as well head there now." He stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets and slowly walked to the longhall.

_________________
PONIES, PONIES EVERYWHERE

Anastasia – Engine Room

Ani crouched and tinkered away among the many pipes, valves and spinning gears of the rumbling and rattling noisy engine room. The bursts of steam kept blurring up her goggle lenses. She pouted as she, again, had to wipe the lenses clean of steam.

“Confounded contraption!” said Ani as a sudden burst of steam from a weakened valve gave her a shock and nearly caused her to drop the spanner out of her hand. She quickly began to tighten it and any other screws that were loose. Once she was done she stood up, her face soaked from the heat of the steam. She wiped her face with a handkerchief and checked the engine meters before completely shutting it down.

“At least there were no accidents today” she said as she gently stroked the pale scars on her dark copper cheeks. As she whistled sweetly, while packing her tools away, the intercom suddenly rumbled and burst out a loud message from Az. Something about the Mayor requesting an audience with them at the town’s longhall! Ani beamed with excitement, “T-the Mayor wants to see us?!”

She sprang up and frantically tried to dust off her jacket. “Oh umm – this will not do!” she said as she hurriedly sped off to her room. Once inside she threw off her jacket and rummaged around for a clean dress to wear. “YAY! THIS IS VERY CUTE!” she yelled in an overjoyed tone. She quickly put on her cute Violet dress (that touches just below the knees) and started to comb her silky soft black hair.

Once she was done she began to run, with a few graceful skips in between each leap, towards the Observation deck were Az was waiting.