Aircraft resembled "Caspartine" from the Stardust movie adaptation: a XVI-century caravel, suspended below a long, cylindrical-shaped blimp. Although she wasn't used to collecting lightning like the former. She carried some lightweight cargo - pillows stuffed with duck feathers.
Olivia didn't know much about sailing other than from the movies, but she'd always dreamed of traveling on a craft like this one. When the opportunity arose, she enrolled as a sailor. It's been two days now, and they've had to show her a thing or two, but so far, the crew hasn't suspected a thing. That evening, Olivia was on duty on a bridge, when she heard Harper's cry:
"Weather balloon straight ahead. Drop the ballast!"
"What ballast?" she shouted back.
"Doesn't matter. Throw anything. Throw it now!"
Olivia looked around the bridge in a panic. Hesitant and frightened, she couldn't find any levers nor buttons to release the ballast Harper had ordered her to drop. "Any dead weight will do," she figured looking at herself in the mirror. It seemed to be the only way. She threw the mirror over the board. "What else?" Olivia didn't want to throw herself off, although she considered her clothes rather heavy and easy to remove. Hastily, she took off her shoes and dress, and reluctantly threw them over the board after the mirror. She didn't wear underwear - just like that, she was naked.
Suddenly Evelyn rushed onto the bridge and over to the controls, smashing with her fist one button after another. Olivia heard some machinery below - the balast door opened, and the balast was jettisoned. The airship's nose rose, and it began to gain altitude. Evelyn let out a deep breath and turned to face Olivia. She looked both angry and intrigued.
"Why didn't you throw the ballast?" Evelyn asked.
"I wanted to, but didn't know how."
Evelyn tilted her head slightly, but didn't comment. Instead, she asked second question on her mind:
"Why are you naked?"
"I heard, in situations like this, it sometimes made all the difference." - When Olivia said this out loud, she realized how ridiculous it sounded.
"Where did you get that from? A cartoon?" though still crude, Evelyn's anger was gradually turning to amusement. When she spoke again, her voice was soft and calm like a summer breeze, "What you did was brave, but I don't think it made much of a difference, especially the underwear."
"I didn't have any to begin with," admitted Olivia.
She would rather be seen as naughty than silly. And Evelyn seemed to appreciate the honesty.
"You're not really a sailor, are you?" she stated rather than asked.
"No, I'm not," Olivia muttered sadly. "I was just looking for a free ride. I didn't want to put anyone in danger."
"Well, you did, and so you'll have to work harder for your place on a ship. If you want to stay on board, you will obey our orders and fulfill our commands." She pondered for a moment, "and you will be punished for your subterfuge. Do you accept that?"
"Yes, anything to stay on board. I will do my best, I promise," Olivia couldn't believe she would still get another chance.
"Good. Now off you go. It's my turn to stand guard on the bridge."
Olivia hesitated for a moment.
"Could I have some clothes first? I threw mine overboard."
"That's because of your deception. You've got to face the consequences."
"But the journey will take 3 weeks."
"At least 3 weeks. The crew is small. You'll get to know them better. See you in the morning."
***
The crew was very small indeed, and beside Olivia, it consisted of only four other sailors, all of them girls: Evelyn, Harper, Natalie and Alice.
First she was afraid about staying naked for the rest of the journey and facing punishment. But since she wasn't able to do anything about that, she promised herself not to go crazy about it. Quickly, the crew and she adjusted to their new relationship.
They decided that as a punishment for lying to them about her credentials and putting them in danger, Olivia, apart from her normal duties, would also wash the deck and crew's clothes every morning. First, she considered it tiring but fair. Then she changed her mind.
She found washing the deck nude quite fun. For starters, she didn't have to worry about soaking her clothes wet. Second, the days were warm, and without clothes, she didn't sweat that much. And there was this thrill that Olivia didn't expect before.
It turns out she liked showing off her body, and now she had the perfect excuse to do so. Even washing clothes, but not being permitted to wear any, was exiting in some kinky way for her.
***
Olivia woke up naked in a hammock. For a moment she couldn't recall where she was or why she was nude, then everything hopped into position. She smirked to herself in memory of the past few days' events, jumped out of her bed quietly, and headed to the bathroom.
Olivia was taking a shower when she heard someone knocking on the door.
"Come in," she said.
Sharing a bathroom with four other girls seemed somewhat inconvenient. Since they've seen her naked already, she didn't mind letting them use the bathroom when she took showers.
It was Evelyn. Even though it was very early, she looked awake already.
"I was hoping to find you there," she said. "When you're done, see me in my cabin, please."
This was unusual. Olivia wondered what that might mean. Hastily, she finished her shower and came to see Evelyn.
***
Evelyn was voted captain, which came with both responsibilities and comforts. Her cabin was a little bit bigger than the others and tastefully decorated. Above the hammock, Olivia could see a small bookshelf. The entire adjacent wall was taken up by a large wardrobe. Light from a big round window illuminated the room.
As Olivia entered, Evelyn was signing some papers at the desk, and pointed to the chair in front of her. Olivia smiled when she noticed it was occupied by some more clothes.
"Oh, sorry. You can put them anywhere," Evelyn said distracted.
"But not on me," Olivia smiled to herself. Moving or washing clothes reminded her of her complete nudity, in a pleasant way though.
