<div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body">(http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u178/TanisVerkaros/alyson-hannigan-1024x768-42481.jpg)</div></div><br/>With the advent of nuclear bombs on both sides of the war, the end of the world as had been known arrived. After the Americans dropped their bombs on Japan, the Axis Powers dropped several on America. The use of these weapons continued until the late 1940s, and it wasn't until the signing of the Treaty of 1949 that the fighting had stopped between the two sides. The aftermath of the war was terrible to say the least, with much of North America inhospitable to humans, the country fell apart. New city-states arose in the place of the old democracy. The rest of the world didn't fare any better however. With many of the traditional land routes now inaccessible due to fallout, the use of air travel had become the prominent means of transportation.<br/><br/>She snipped the last of her once long fiery red hair away. She ran her hand through her now relatively short hair, and sighed. She looked around her small apartment, spartan in decoration, though not by choice. It was a simple one bedroom apartment, the main room was dominated by a bed, and a stove. The only other furniture in the room was a small dresser, and mirror. Though she worked hard as a writer, it brought very little money in. Her only other job as a waitress didn't pay very well either. Coupled with the constant groping made her dread every minute she had to spend in the small diner.<br/><br/>She wrapped a piece of cloth around her breasts, to keep them tight across her chest. For the most part women still couldn't serve on ships, and she wasn't actually going to serve on one. She was going to disguise herself as one of the crew, and hopefully last long enough to make it to Los Angeles. Her father had sent her a letter that was mostly gibberish, but it seemed like he was in trouble. She didn't make nearly enough money to get a ticket all the way home. So she was going to stow away on a ship, and try to make it that way.<br/><br/>She slipped into the black one-piece jumpsuit, zipping it up to her neck. She threw on a worker's vest, and toolbelt. The finishing touches were a pair of gloves, black work boots, and a baseball hat. She wasn't exactly manly, but this was her only hope. Finished dressing, she drove down to the docks. She looked around for a way in, after a few minutes of searching she found a hole large enough for her to slip through. She'd done some research before coming here, and already had a ship picked out, the Hawkstone. She slipped onboard, and tried her best to fit in.