The steel edged crate skidded jarringly across the one below it. The cacophonous noise that accompanied the action made Alex scrunch up his face in protest. No one liked grunt work, least of all him. Sure, assign the weakest guy on this stupid skip to the most labor intensive work, that'll get the job done! He looked around the ship confines with accusing eyes; something he wouldn't dare do in the light of day. Then again, nighttime was more suited for him. It allowed him to be alone...to think.<br/><br/>Alex was a tall, lanky built 20 something that had just enlisted in his local Captain's airship for service duty. The idea he'd had originally had been good: Join an airship crew and build some muscle, learn some experience! Become a more rounded individual. Yet all these motives fell flat when the rest of the shipâ€™s inhabitants tormented one, mercilessly. His only solace is that he fit the stereotype he was quite proud of--intelligence coupled with lacking physical ability. Smartest in his class, Alex was always good at solving problems. He had a unique way of looking at things, so that when test time came, he worked best under pressure. This characteristic unfortunately did not apply to pointless situations such as moving the ship's cargo from one side of the bay to the other. "Stupid captain..." he muttered. "I hope you reap what you sow!" he cursed, his fingers giving out again as the third box slide dangerously close on the edge of the second. Alex threw his body weight at the makeshift tower, determined to push the boxes in order. Heavens only knew that if they feel over before he got around to securing them all, he'd be the one to pick them back up again.<br/><br/>Sometime later after Alex had gruelingly trudged through all his monotonous tasks, he was finally able to move up to the upper decks and get some thought waves out there. He sighed internally as the first gust of cool air assaulted his face. It was cold outside, that was to be sure, but what could you expect with a modern marvel such as this? Solemnly going over the inner mechanics of the ship in his head, Alex almost didn't notice when the last sentinel for the night was retiring. This was odd he thought at first, but as the goon passed near his way he understood as he listed to the ramblings of a drunken idiot. He was faced with a dilemma.<br/><br/>There was always supposed to be someone on the lookout for a possible assault. If not the sentinels, then the next person up in duty. That was him. As the only person awake and above deck, it was his responsibility to man the ship's awareness until sunup. He deliberated quickly. Usually nothing happened to the sentinels--usually. But there were those times when an miscalculated quick turn of the ship threw off the watchmen from his high perch. Alex wouldn't put it past the captain to make sure that happened. But more than that fear, there was the pressing matter of the cargo they carried. If there was ever a time his ship would be attacked, it was now. This should be even more of a reason to go on watch...but he couldn't. His stomach sank at the thought of climbing the forty-two rungs to the top of a large watch bay, where he could quite possibly become petrified at the thought of his height. Alex wasn't particularly afraid of heights, but when the possibility of actually falling presented itself, even a logical person such as him would be scared.<br/><br/>Resolving to abandon the ship in the figurative sense, Alex moaned but returned below deck where he should have been all along. It was this justification that he would use later when explaining why he was not on watch. Entering his small, dank quarters, Alex was pondering whether he would be able to sleep well through the night. Physically, he was exhausted, sure, but now his conscience was hanging onto the guilt that something might happen to the crew on his watch, even if it wasn't even his watch. Alex sat on the edge of his bed and swung his feet around, preparing to lay his head on his down pillow. Just as his cranium made contact with the soft fabric, a loud alarm sounded. He bolted upright, not sure what course of action he should take. Crew members were shouting as absolute chaos flooded and threatened to engulf the poor carrier ship whole.<br/><br/>Alex tentatively opened his quarters' door and stepped outside. Residing in the lower decks, he would have a longer walk to the top. Not that he could really fight, or do much to be of assistance. The question was to hide or prepare for the battle of his life. A loud explosion followed by shouts of awareness "The captain is dead!" answered the question for him. Turning swiftly around the bend of the lower cargo deck, Alex took up a perch between his recently secured boxes and tried to hold his breath as best he could.