The Silver Serpent has a crew of 37 in total, barring unforseen accidents shortening this number. Broken down, this consists of one captain, i.e. Moshi Maiko, one first mate, i.e. the ever silent Moshi Tarou. A Shegenja by the name of Moshi Kaito, who always did seem a little strange, although very friendly. Three petty officers helped run the ship, all loud men whose bark is worth than their bite. Of the remaining, four were experts on the large weapons lining the decks, one was the ship’s chef, a status that got him out of regular duties, and the remaining 26 were simple deckhands.
This gives the Serpent five active watches, when fully manned. These watches work on a rotating six hour period, in each day the members of a watch spend one shift on deck, and three shifts off duty. The fifth shift of the day has the no watch duty that day, but instead has the much dreaded kitchen duty, where they spend the day assisting the chef prepare the meals for the crew. Obviously, the entire watch isn’t required, so more often than not, kitchen duty is used as a disciplinary measure by the master of the watch, or if there is no discipline required, exemption from kitchen duty is given as a reward to those who’ve been particularly useful.
The first watch of the day is considered the one that begins an hour after dawn, the second around noon, the third an hour after sunset, and the last around midnight.
In a typical day, Maiko rises at dawn, and spends an hour going through a series of exercises on deck, usually on the bow, sometimes on the very top of the serpent head that protrudes from the front of the ship, a rather dangerous position to do anything. These graceful steps flow into each other flawlessly and are recognisable to anyone who’s seen Maiko fight as her combat technique. When Maiko has the late night shift, she does it the hour before she goes on duty as she is required to be at the helm the hour before dawn.
The other regular activity on board is providing Maiko isn’t on the early night shift, she will spar with Tarou after they’ve eaten. Watching the two Bushi, whose techniques differ yet style is similar, exchange blows as they dart around out other in what is clearly a contest of defence, is usually the main event of the day, always the duel is different, and although it is clear that Maiko is far more agile than Tarou, his power makes him dangerous in his own right. The two never try to hurt one another though, and although occasional accidents happen no one is ever seriously hurt.
Maiko’s quarters, where the all of the ship’s female passengers seem to always stay, are luxurious by most standards. Although there’s not much that can be done about the necessity of hammocks, the room was full of finely crafted furniture, all bolted to the floor of course. On the far wall, a mural of the symbols of the three major families of the Mantis caught the eye of anyone who entered, the green and silver standing out from the colours of the rest of the room, which tended more towards Crimson and reds.
Maiko seemed to always be able to tell who was entering the room, even when she appeared asleep, for if anyone male other than Tarou or Kaito entered without being summoned, a tanto would strike against the doorframe immediately. This encouraged the uninvited guest to leave, because he knew where the next one would land. More often than not, if this happened, it was because the crew had a new member, and the others had tricked him into doing some errand, but occasionally it was someone who had drunk too much sake or beer and thought they could get away with it.
Although seeming friendly enough, Maiko is almost as quiet as Tarou when she's not on duty, and apart from some occasional and inevitably brief inquiries about the health and contentment of her passengers, she generally doesn't initiate many conversations.