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Jez was the only child of a Delaware fisherman and a socialite that married well below her station in the name of romance. As such, while they didn't have much during her childhood, it was a happy one. Her father doted on her and took her out on his boat to teach her to sail when she was old enough, and her mother taught her what she could of the etiquette of her former life, hoping to one day get her family to help Jez make a proper marriage.
She never took to it, however, instead preferring to make her own way in the world. If she married, she was determined to do it only for love, as her parents did. In the meantime, she'd picked up a love of the ocean and of sailing, and a fierce independent streak that inspired her to travel to Philadelphia at 19 to attempt to enroll herself at the university there.
Being relatively poor, she quickly discovered that she could not actively enroll, and while technically she was allowed to sit in on classes to learn the general consensus of the primarily male, upper class students was that she had no business in 'their' classrooms.
She stayed for two years before finally cutting her losses after a particularly nasty confrontation that only ended with her safe because of a chance run in with a policeman.
That left her bitter, directionless, and with a whole lot of pent up aggression for the system that made women second class citizens. She took a job as a tutor for a banker's daughter and became heavily involved in the local Suffragette group.
A friend in that group was the one that pointed her to a new opportunity when she was 26. Airships were becoming ubiquitous, and one of the local women had managed to acquire one and was looking for other women to join her crew. They would make their own way, on their own terms. She was entranced, and signed up that day.
Due to her sailing background she proved to have a knack for airship piloting, which made her invaluable to Matilda Gray, the captain. They operated as a courier vessel, primarily, taking people and packages where they needed to go, legally or not. In their second year, they started jokingly calling themselves pirates, and the term stuck.
It wasn't until a few days after Jez' 32nd birthday that they had reason to regret that. None of them were ever really sure if it was deliberate or a horrific misunderstanding that caused British soldiers to board their vessel while they were docked in the Caribbean, having been informed that theirs was a pirate vessel.
Matilda and her first mate was arrested and executed for acts of piracy, and it was Jez herself that managed to orchestrate the release of the rest of them and reclaim the ship, leaving her Captain by default.
She never took to it, however, instead preferring to make her own way in the world. If she married, she was determined to do it only for love, as her parents did. In the meantime, she'd picked up a love of the ocean and of sailing, and a fierce independent streak that inspired her to travel to Philadelphia at 19 to attempt to enroll herself at the university there.
Being relatively poor, she quickly discovered that she could not actively enroll, and while technically she was allowed to sit in on classes to learn the general consensus of the primarily male, upper class students was that she had no business in 'their' classrooms.
She stayed for two years before finally cutting her losses after a particularly nasty confrontation that only ended with her safe because of a chance run in with a policeman.
That left her bitter, directionless, and with a whole lot of pent up aggression for the system that made women second class citizens. She took a job as a tutor for a banker's daughter and became heavily involved in the local Suffragette group.
A friend in that group was the one that pointed her to a new opportunity when she was 26. Airships were becoming ubiquitous, and one of the local women had managed to acquire one and was looking for other women to join her crew. They would make their own way, on their own terms. She was entranced, and signed up that day.
Due to her sailing background she proved to have a knack for airship piloting, which made her invaluable to Matilda Gray, the captain. They operated as a courier vessel, primarily, taking people and packages where they needed to go, legally or not. In their second year, they started jokingly calling themselves pirates, and the term stuck.
It wasn't until a few days after Jez' 32nd birthday that they had reason to regret that. None of them were ever really sure if it was deliberate or a horrific misunderstanding that caused British soldiers to board their vessel while they were docked in the Caribbean, having been informed that theirs was a pirate vessel.
Matilda and her first mate was arrested and executed for acts of piracy, and it was Jez herself that managed to orchestrate the release of the rest of them and reclaim the ship, leaving her Captain by default.
