I woke up to find myself jailed in the Bridge. This is not a misspelling of brig nor do I mean to say "on the bridge". I was in the closed bridge that connects the back two paddle wheels of our airship. It's a small space, hot and wet from the steaming air pushing those spoked wheels that power the ship while sky flying. Looking up between passes of a paddles I could spy another duplicate of myself dressed in my clothes cozying to our captain. I had no idea why he didn't recognize that it wasn't the real me, Anne of Prime, simply for the fact that she was being so damn sweet and solicitous. As she was in my clothes, I was nude and grateful for the steam engine's heat.
"Oh no, I thought it was the funniest joke ever" I heard Fake-Anne saying with a slight giggle; as another view became available through the spokes I saw she had her hand on his lower back. Resisting the urge to preform an overly dramatic wretch I quietly observed the situation above. "But dear Pharaoh, I thought I'd never get back to this ship in time!" The captain looked at her slightly oddly but didn't give away that he realized at that very moment it wasn't me.
I had told him previously that on Prime the ruler is a Pharaoh in order to maintain unquestioned, religion based rule. By his reaction I knew it wasn't his idea to have this obvious Consortium bounty hunter on board but like any good scoundrel he didn't give himself away. He knew I was in trouble but that my trouble could easily become his too which, I assume, is why he didn't sound an immediate alarm; escape would be my own responsibility as would be downing the Consortium scum. I sat my naked butt down to give some thought to a plan, which came to me pretty quickly.
To Be Continued...
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