Captain Davis allows me free reign, to pull her
into the docks and fly her right over to Aeon – that is a small
blotch in the distance, but growing steadily bolder with every
minute that passes. My hands hold the polished wood of the helm
easily, bringing us to the next part of my journey.
Although, to be fair, I feel tempted to look at the Captain
and tell him that I am reluctant to leave – even though it can be
seen by the way I sometime s
lose myself in my thoughts. I have never felt more welcomed than on
the Calypso , but at the
same time I want to meet my destiny, and become the kind of pirate
father would’ve been proud of.
Owen, up in the crow’s nest,
clambers down from the rigging and sprints right on up to the helm,
barely out of breath. Captain Davis looks our way, hovering nearby
despite the fact that he trusts me enough to fly his ship – as he
still is the Captain. I take one look at my friend’s expression,
and my heart sinks.
“ They’ve
tracked us,” he states. “Portside, twenty klicks and coming in fast
– another at starboard, fifteen klicks.”
I look to the Captain, my ques tion plain in my eyes – as they will catch up long
before we make it to Aeon, the Skyland still thirty klicks away,
and the galleon isn’t as quick as the Fleet’s airships, that’s for
certain.
Looking between the Captain, the Quarter Master and the deckhand, I get an idea. It is
downright insane, and may get us all killed, but it is the best I
can come up with on such short notice – within the hour, they will
be upon us.
“ We wi ll arm up the
cannons and prepare to engage,” Captain Davis is saying, and I cut
in before they can actually put that plan into motion.
“ Actually, I have an idea,” I state, and they look my way. “I warn you, though; it is
crazy.”
The men regard me a moment, the
Captain crossing his arms, and Owen breaks the silence.
“ I like
crazy,” he admits, shrugging. The Quarter Master, Fulke, nods in
affirmation.
“ The lad
knows how these men think,” he adds on, both men looking to the
Captain – as this is his call. “Their tactics and such. How about
we go with crazy, just this once?”
Another crew member shouts at
us that our starboard companion is ten klicks away. Orin shifts on
my shoulder, sensing the tension, and I stroke the animal’s head
carefully, trying to calm it.
“ What do we
need to do?” Captain Davis asks me, and I grin, reaching for the
aviator goggles sitting on my head and pulling them over my eyes,
so that the world is reduced to murky shades of brown and
copper.
“ Tie yourselves down – this wi ll get really, really rough,” I instruct, and they relay
the message as I jump down from the helm to the lower deck,
sprinting towards the engine compartment – the one thing I did not
have to learn, having already mastered that part well enough. I
open the hatch and slip in, much to the dismay of the two engineers
already in there.
I tell them the same thing, and for a second they look at
me oddly before complying,
while I am already reaching for the wrench and screwdriver sitting
in the toolkit strapped to my left thigh. Orin wraps his tail
around my arm, as if sensing the oncoming turbulence, and I begin
unscrewing a pipe’s brace while turning off the steam to that
output, making the ship lose a few inches in altitude.
Working quickly, I remove the brace off two pipes and pull
the box of extra supplies on hand here with my foot, holding the
screwdriver with my teeth. I fish out a cap for the pipe, shutting
off the Aether at the front
of the ship and forcing the airship into a nosedive that gradually
deepens.
The engineers shout in protest
while I work, connecting two pipes you wouldn’t normally connect
and screwing them together, tightening the brace with the wrench
before pocketing both and taking out a pair of wire cutters. My
heart is beating steadily in my chest, the way the mechanical heart
is created to, despite the adrenaline
into the docks and fly her right over to Aeon – that is a small
blotch in the distance, but growing steadily bolder with every
minute that passes. My hands hold the polished wood of the helm
easily, bringing us to the next part of my journey.
Although, to be fair, I feel tempted to look at the Captain
and tell him that I am reluctant to leave – even though it can be
seen by the way I sometime s
lose myself in my thoughts. I have never felt more welcomed than on
the Calypso , but at the
same time I want to meet my destiny, and become the kind of pirate
father would’ve been proud of.
Owen, up in the crow’s nest,
clambers down from the rigging and sprints right on up to the helm,
barely out of breath. Captain Davis looks our way, hovering nearby
despite the fact that he trusts me enough to fly his ship – as he
still is the Captain. I take one look at my friend’s expression,
and my heart sinks.
“ They’ve
tracked us,” he states. “Portside, twenty klicks and coming in fast
– another at starboard, fifteen klicks.”
I look to the Captain, my ques tion plain in my eyes – as they will catch up long
before we make it to Aeon, the Skyland still thirty klicks away,
and the galleon isn’t as quick as the Fleet’s airships, that’s for
certain.
Looking between the Captain, the Quarter Master and the deckhand, I get an idea. It is
downright insane, and may get us all killed, but it is the best I
can come up with on such short notice – within the hour, they will
be upon us.
“ We wi ll arm up the
cannons and prepare to engage,” Captain Davis is saying, and I cut
in before they can actually put that plan into motion.
“ Actually, I have an idea,” I state, and they look my way. “I warn you, though; it is
crazy.”
The men regard me a moment, the
Captain crossing his arms, and Owen breaks the silence.
“ I like
crazy,” he admits, shrugging. The Quarter Master, Fulke, nods in
affirmation.
“ The lad
knows how these men think,” he adds on, both men looking to the
Captain – as this is his call. “Their tactics and such. How about
we go with crazy, just this once?”
Another crew member shouts at
us that our starboard companion is ten klicks away. Orin shifts on
my shoulder, sensing the tension, and I stroke the animal’s head
carefully, trying to calm it.
“ What do we
need to do?” Captain Davis asks me, and I grin, reaching for the
aviator goggles sitting on my head and pulling them over my eyes,
so that the world is reduced to murky shades of brown and
copper.
“ Tie yourselves down – this wi ll get really, really rough,” I instruct, and they relay
the message as I jump down from the helm to the lower deck,
sprinting towards the engine compartment – the one thing I did not
have to learn, having already mastered that part well enough. I
open the hatch and slip in, much to the dismay of the two engineers
already in there.
I tell them the same thing, and for a second they look at
me oddly before complying,
while I am already reaching for the wrench and screwdriver sitting
in the toolkit strapped to my left thigh. Orin wraps his tail
around my arm, as if sensing the oncoming turbulence, and I begin
unscrewing a pipe’s brace while turning off the steam to that
output, making the ship lose a few inches in altitude.
Working quickly, I remove the brace off two pipes and pull
the box of extra supplies on hand here with my foot, holding the
screwdriver with my teeth. I fish out a cap for the pipe, shutting
off the Aether at the front
of the ship and forcing the airship into a nosedive that gradually
deepens.
The engineers shout in protest
while I work, connecting two pipes you wouldn’t normally connect
and screwing them together, tightening the brace with the wrench
before pocketing both and taking out a pair of wire cutters. My
heart is beating steadily in my chest, the way the mechanical heart
is created to, despite the adrenaline
Similar Books
