by George Wier
Above them was chaos.
Denys backed Custer from the hatch and to the top of the Arcadia. Their sabers rang off each other with a fury, and Denys was sorely matched to keep his skin intact, for Custer was a phenomenal swordsman, far superior to Teach.
Soldiers continued to rain down on the moon ship, and ropes were so thick and tangled they resembled spider webs.
Garret shot and slashed and parried his way through a group of bluecoats to help Merkam at the entry hatch.
Two soldiers overpowered Ross and forced him down on his back on the steel hull. One of them readied to bash out Jack’s brains with a rifle butt. Billy aimed and shot the man, causing him to drop his rifle. The man grabbed his shoulder, then reached for the pistol in his holster. Billy pulled the trigger again and his pistol snapped. He was empty!
Ross bellowed, “Cyclops!”
The Arcadia shook with a visible tremor and the giant robot crawled from the cargo hatch like an enormous metal spider. It swung a huge arm that swept the soldier from the Arcadia like a gnat. The robot lifted Jack from the hull so he could stand, then the robot’s metal arm exploded as a two-pound shell from the floating airship struck it. The robot flailed and fell from the Arcadia, entangling itself in the ropes hanging everywhere. It caught the severed arm as the still-jerking appendage slid off the ship and clanged into the robot’s chest.
The robot’s sudden tonnage jerked the floating airship downward as if it weighed nothing. It crashed on the Arcadia with a massive splintering of wood and timbers, crushing those too slow to evade it. Fire whooshed up through the breaks in the wooden ship’s deck and out the ruptured sides. The smell of spreading petrol and strong chemicals was powerful, and growing flames danced higher and higher in whirlwind-like hellfire colors of red and green and yellow, spreading as if they were alive. The dirigible above it dissolved into tatters in the heat.
Denys dodged a falling spar and slid on his stomach across the Arcadia’s hull, going over the side headfirst. He managed to grasp a line and stop his momentum six inches short of breaking his neck on the iron cage. Ekka and Billy reached his side and helped him disentangle from the ropes.
Black ash fell so thick it was hard to see five feet, and the red embers in them winked like fireflies. Screams filled the air. Smoke swirled and billowed. Denys looked at the inferno above them and said, “Where is the swordsman?”
Custer felt as if his destiny must be God’s will. When the falling ship crashed, timbers rained down around him and flames erupted on both sides, but nothing touched his person. His nemesis, the fierce swashbuckler with the flashing blade had disappeared, and now, directly in front of him, was a flame-free path to the large, open cargo hatch. He also had fire protecting him on all sides. Custer entered the big opening, leading with the tip of the saber.
Garret and Merkam stood a foot inside the higher, smaller entry hatch and ducked as burning timbers dropped in front of the opening and thudded off the threshold in showers of sparks before falling through heavy smoke to the ground. Pat said, “Do you think the crash damaged—”
A huge soldier, with a torso as big as a rain barrel swung into the opening and kicked Garret against the far wall, where his head hit a sconce and he collapsed to the floor. Merkam swung at the soldier, but the man dodged his attempt, then raised his fist like a tomahawk and brought it down, clubbing Jude mercilessly. Merkam fell to the floor, battered and unconscious. Koothrappally saw it all from the hallway and started forward, then watched Dr. Conklin come from out of nowhere. The Doctor stepped in front of the soldier and appeared to flit his fingers across the huge man’s face.
The soldier grabbed his face and gurgled a scream as he staggered backward. Blood poured from between his fingers and under his hands. He took another backward step and fell out of the hatchway. Conklin reached for him and said, “No, wait!” Koothrappally thought it sounded as if the Doctor wanted the soldier to stay longer, like a child wanting another child not to leave, so he could continue playing the game.
Conklin wiped a small scalpel clean with his handkerchief, slipped the slender silver instrument up his sleeve, and kneeled to check Merkam. After a second, he said to Koothrappally, “Get the Arcadia off the ground before we are overrun.”
“But Sir Doctor, I am very, very, very unable to maneuver the flying of this machine.”
Conklin looked out the opening at the flames and smoke. He heard the groaning of the Arcadia’s hull as the fire’s heat warped her metal plates. The sounds of battle were still strong, and there were more military shouts than voices from the Arcadia’s crew. He said, “If you don’t find a way to ascend us into the skies, we will all be in front of a firing squad by tomorrow morning.”
Koothrappally raised a forefinger as if to make a point and said, “In that case…”
The burning airship continued to collapse in large and small pieces, especially with the robot’s movements pulling on the lines. Jack grasped one of the ropes with his metal arm to help the mechanical giant right itself, but when he pulled, another section of the burning ship above him collapsed. The top half of the mizzenmast snapped off and plummeted down like a blazing javelin. The burning tip smashed into Jack’s metal arm and pinned it against the side of the Arcadia as the inertia and momentum screeched the tip along the metal side like fingernails on a chalkboard. In less than a quarter-second, two-hundred pounds of burning hardwood ripped Jack’s metal arm completely off where it attached to living flesh.
Jack emitted a long, high-pitched scream and fainted, then his limp body slid off the Arcadia, only to be caught by the giant robot. His amputated metal arm fell seconds later and the one-armed robot snatched it from the air and cradled the unconscious man and two mechanical arms to its chest.
Ekka and Billy scampered up the side of the Arcadia to help Jack. Denys yelled to them, “I must find Custer! He is the head of this attacking snake!”
“Do you have a weapon?” Ekka asked.
“I will acquire one shortly,” Denys said, and used a rope and his boots against the Arcadia’s hull to ascend like a mountaineer. He disappeared into a cloud of smoke, then Billy and Ekka heard a yell, followed by a soldier falling through the smoke and crashing into the cage, then careening off to flap into the earth with his arms out to his sides. Denys’ voice came through the smoke, “I have a weapon, don’t worry about me!”
Billy and Ekka went to the giant robot holding Jack’s limp, bleeding body. A thin red stream poured from what remained of his arm. “Billy, take off your shirt, we need tourniquets!”
Billy peeled off his shirt and made short work of it with his knife. He cut it into strips and plaited several of them together for extra strength. He felt the slickness of sweat forming on his skin from the heat, and smudges of black suet streaked his torso as the dark ash continued to fall.
Ekka worked fast and had the arm stabilized in less than a minute. When they tried to lift Jack, the robot would not release him. “Let him go.” Ekka said.
The robot did not do as ordered. Ekka tugged, but it was like trying to pull a large oak out of the earth. “Release Jack Ross!” She said. Nothing. “Robot, release Ross! Release your master!” The robot was like a statue, except for the grip on Jack.
“You want me to shoot it?” Billy said.
“No, I don’t know if you could damage it enough, and it has a self-defense mechanism built in. It might attack.”
They stared at the robot and thought about what might work. Ekka tried to revive Jack so he could give the command, but to no avail, for Jack Ross was unconscious and in deep trouble. The sounds of battle above them increased. Both could tell the cavalrymen were excited. “I think we’re losing,” Billy said.
“Nothing is lost until there are none of us left.”
Billy looked at the robot again and said, “Wait a minute. Before Jack got hurt, he called out and the robot came running to him like a pet hound. What did he call it? Oh yes,” Billy faced the robot and said, “Cyclops, release Jack Ross.”
The robot handed Jack to them. Ekka looked at Billy, “Good thing you are a bright lad. Now, let us get Ross to Dr. Conklin and hope our engineer’s life can be saved.”
Ekka used her knife and cut several hanging ropes. Billy said, “Help me get him on my back. Tie him on me. I can go up that way better than both of us carrying and no one guarding.” Ekka didn’t argue. She used a diamond hitch pattern and had Jack well positioned so that Billy retained good balance and could use both arms. She readjusted the lines for a better fit as Billy said, “Did you pack mules for the army? Where did you learn to do that?”
“I was in Mexico when General Crook chased Geronimo through the Sierra Madres. Crook and his men used the diamond hitch. One of them, a scout named Tom Horn, showed me. It is very useful.”
“Tom Horn! He is something of a notorious character.”
“He was tall and funny, ready to tell a joke or witty story at any time. He is a man who was good at many things. Everyone seemed to like him, even the Apaches. Geronimo told me that Tom was named Talking Boy by the Chiricahuas because he learned their language so quickly.”
Billy said, “What in the world were you doing in Mexico, with Apaches, and Crook’s army, and…oh, never mind.” He grinned at her.
“That…is a story for a more peaceful time and place. I promise I will tell you when we return from our lunar adventure. Agreed?”
Billy said, “Can we seal the deal?” He tapped his lips with a forefinger.
She narrowed her eyes at him, then kissed him and pushed him to the ropes. “We need to hurry.”
Billy turned to the robot, “Cyclops. Go to the engine room. Guard it against anyone who does not call out your name.” The one-armed mechanical giant snugged the two amputated metal arms under its armpit, then struggled up the ropes in erratic movements and disappeared into the black roof of smoke that hung like a low cloud six feet above Billy’s head. He turned to Ekka, “Let’s get Jack some assistance.”
Two Hats remained in the engine room as Ross had ordered. He was pacing and angry that he, a Lakota warrior, was not in the fight, and not singling out Yellow Hair for a bloody reckoning. But he had given Iron Hand Jack his word and remained silent when Ross left with the giant mechanical man.
There was a noise at the entrance and Two Hats watched as the giant robot staggered in, minus a mechanical arm. It stopped, then the mechanical head rotated toward Two Hats.
It attacked so fast that Two Hats had to roll underneath a table to avoid the hammer blow aimed to crush him. He leapt to his feet and immediately had to dive to his left as a metal foot kicked at him. “What you do, iron man? I friend!”
The next blow grazed Two Hats and sent him skidding across the floor and hard against the wall. The robot advanced and the Lakota knew he had to do something fast. He picked up a large wrench and threw it as hard as he could at the robot’s head. It clanged on impact and the robot’s head jerked sideways. It stopped advancing for an instant. Two Hats shot by it and dove through the entrance into the hallway.
He scrambled to his feet and glanced behind to see if the giant was coming. The robot stepped to its usual place against the wall. It stood immobile, facing the entrance, massive as a hill of granite.
In the hallway, sounds carried better and Two Hats heard angry voices further in the ship. He glanced one more time at the robot, then pulled his knife and advanced toward the sounds.
[ 38 ]
When Custer entered the ship, the first person he encountered was Abigail Ross. Abby attempted to flee, but George was already on her. He held her from behind, with the tip of his saber touching her side. “Be civil,” he said, “I will not harm you if you take me to the captain’s deck.”
“You brigand! You wear our country’s uniform but you are naught but a flea-bitten scoundrel, a filthy pirate. No better than those you have hunted.”
Custer nudged her with the tip and Abby winced. A small spot of bright red appeared on the side of her blouse. “I have never killed a white woman, but if you don’t assist me, I will. This ship will be mine. Now, lead me to it.”
Abby started up the hallway just as Denys entered in front of her. He was startled, then stepped back and looked over Abby’s shoulder into Custer’s eyes. “Let her go and we can see which of us is best with the blade.”
“Drop the saber, you English fop, or I will run her through.” He poked Abby with the tip again, and Abby cried out in pain. “You have no options.”
Denys tossed his saber to the side. “I am your prisoner…for now.”
Custer nudged Abby and said, “Lead me, and keep him in front of you.” The trio walked up the hallway passage, and Custer was as tension-filled as an over-wound watch spring. When they were nearer the cone of the Arcadia, Custer saw the sprawled bodies of Garret and Merkam near the entry hatch, and Tesla tending to Jude.
They all felt the Arcadia lift from the earth. Koothrappally was further into the cone area, seated at a panel and working dials and levers. He said in a louder voice, “You, the man from Bombay, come join your friends.”
Koothrappally rose and stepped beside Denys. “I do not think this action is importantly being calculated from alpha to omega, sir.”
As the Arcadia floated above the Alamo mission, a shadow came from Custer’s right and he jerked Abby towards it. Billy entered the hatch opening with Ross tied to his back. Ekka was beside him. Custer said, “Toss your weapons out the door.”
“I’m not giving up my guns,” Billy said.
Tears slid down Abby’s cheeks, “Please, he has already drawn my blood twice.” She turned so they could see the hand-sized stain on her blouse.
“He means it.” Ekka said, and tossed her knives and pistol to the deck.
Billy took a long second, then did the same. Ekka untied Ross and they lowered his unconscious body to the floor beside Merkam. Billy stood and said, “What now, Yellow Hair.”
Custer relaxed a fraction. “For now, all of you move into the hallway, and carry your friends with you.” The groups maneuvered past each other until Custer was near the entry hatch. He hooked his foot in the ropes that had tied Ross and kicked them to the others. He indicated Tesla, “Hog tie them, feet to hands. Do it quickly.”
At the far end of the hallway, Two Hats peered around a storage box and stared at Custer. His enemy was here, but he had all the friends of Two Hats as prisoners. The slender man was tying them up, and Custer had the woman, the Abby-woman, at the tip of his long knife.
Two Hats was vexed, for he could not attack Yellow Hair from this direction without risking the lives of his friends. He asked for the spirits to help, to give him a sign. A change in the breeze blew a tendril of gray smoke in the hatchway near him and it wiggled like a beckoning finger. Now he knew what to do. Two Hats jumped out the hatch and disappeared in the smoke and flames.
Tesla said to Custer, “You must realize that you cannot fly the Arcadia. The flight control mechanisms are complex, complicated. One wrong action and you will crash in flames.”
Custer pushed Abby toward Tesla. “Tie the mouthy one up. Then start on yourself and I’ll finish the job.” Abby did as told. When she finished with Tesla and had herself almost completed, Custer finished the knots on her and stepped back, satisfied and finally relaxed. He said to Tesla, “I had spies around this moon ship since the first day. I paid them well, and I know exactly how to take this vessel into the ether and beyond. Now, I have to decide whether to land somewhere and let you all out, or take us higher and watch you drop from the heavens. Don’t anger me, and you may yet live.”
Two Hats pulled himself along the side of the Arcadia by dangling ropes that were now burning like candlewicks. Several fell away from the burning hull as he watched, and boards and timbers continued their fiery falls to earth as well. The quarterdeck was the last intact part of the airship remaining. Smoke and flames erupted here and there, and it was only a matter of time, but Two Hats was happy to see the ropes hanging from that part were not burning. He u
sed them to reach his target.
Custer stepped to the open hatch to admire the view below. He looked down on the historic Alamo mission, where Crockett, Bowie, and Travis attained so much glory. He would be even more famous than they were, because he would not die to gain his status. The thought made him smile.
A shadow dropped from the top of the opening, and Custer had time to blink in surprise.
Two Hats was on Custer in an instant, but as fast as he was with the Bowie knife, Custer matched it with his saber and parried the deathblow aimed at his heart. He shoved the Lakota away and the two warriors faced each other in the narrow confines near the opening.
They went at each other, steel ringing on steel. Custer drew first blood with a slash that cut Two Hats across the hip. The blood was as bright and shiny as cinnamon candy where it trickled down his thigh in rivulets.
Yellow Hair struck again with a quick thrust that pierced Two Hats forearm, almost making him drop his knife.
“You’re done,” Custer said, and came at the Sioux in a fury.
It was what Two Hats had been waiting for, and he used the lessons his friend Qui-Dak-Nan taught him.
Custer hit so hard against the wall that his breath exhaled with a Hufff. He slashed at the Lakota again and felt his collarbone break as the Lakota struck him there with an open hand. He staggered backward, hurting and confused, his heels at the edge of the hatch opening. “What…?”
At that moment, the airship’s quarterdeck slid by the hatch opening in a shower of flames and burning ropes, dropping and banging the side of the Arcadia as it plummeted to earth.
Custer looked out at the conflagration. Two Hats launched into him, burying the Bowie knife in his chest as both men fell into space.
Billy yelled, “Nooo!”
[ 39 ]
A black coated arm, smoking and flaming, grabbed Two Hats as he fell. It jerked him hard, banging his body into the cage that held the Ares, which now floated on the belly of the Arcadia. Two Hats felt as if he had been snatched from the sky by one of his dark war spirits. He looked at the hulking, smoking, man-like thing holding him and spoke to the spirit in Sioux.
