Sky Scorcher 2

by Harlan J Meade

  Misty arrived to her room and found it warm due to leaving the window open so the summer breeze could drift into her room. As she packed her belongings, she paused for a moment and looked in the mirror. “We’re coming for you, Firebolt. And this time…it’s for blood!” she announced as she looked at her reflection.

  ***

  James woke up before the sun rose and began to pack the usual necessities along with all of his charts and all the information that he had about the Sky Scorcher and Joshua Firebolt. After he finished packing, James dressed and headed to the docks to help Mr. Rewk ready the ship to sail.

  On his way out, he knocked on Misty’s door and softly said, “Misty? Are you awake?”

  He listened and heard her foot steps coming to the door followed by Misty opening it. “I’ve been up long enough to get dressed,” answered Misty as she grabbed her luggage and stepped outside the door to join James. “I packed last night” said Misty.

  As the two walked to the docks, Sky Marshal Plateman caught up with them.

  “Good morning!” greeted James when he arrived at the docks. The docks were already alive with people who where working to get the ship ready for departure.

  “Mr. Blackwin!” shouted Crew Chief Rewk who was in the process of assigning duties to the crewmen on board the ship.

  “Let’s go say hello to everyone before he works the crew into the ground,” James said as he attempted to hide his laughter from Mr. Rewk.

  “Mr. Rewk, I was glad when King Tideon said that you and your crew would be manning the ship for this voyage,” commented Plateman as he shook Mr. Rewk’s hand.

  “It is good to be back on a ship…and this time we have a proper warship. It is good to see all of you. I’ll get someone to show you to your rooms where you can place your belongings,” replied Crew Chief Rewk as he motioned one of his crewmen over. “Oh, James, you and the Lieutenant will have to share the Captain’s cabin,” explained Mr. Rewk.

  “That will be perfectly fine with me,” said James.

  “And me…” added Plateman as the crewmen arrived to lead them to their rooms.

  Once they were squared away, the three returned to the deck.

  “Misty, there are still several supplies that we are going to need. Take some of the crewmen with you and go to the Palace Quartermaster and tell him what we need,” James said as he made a list of items that Misty needed to gather.

  Misty took a handful of the crewmen with her and tucked the list that James had made into her pocket.

  Several hours passed after Misty left and it noon was approaching.

  “The King is coming!” shouted someone who had been working on the rigging.

  “Now you have got to hurry, Misty,” breathed James as the King grew closer.

  “Is everything in order, Mr. Blackwin?” asked King Tideon when he boarded James’ new ship.

  “It seems to be. Mr. Rewk is on top of the crew and I have sent Misty along with some of the crewmen to retrieve what supplies we were missing,” explained James to the King who seemed pleased with the reply.

  “Very good. You’re always on top of things. Now I need to make an announcement. Could you get everyone’s attention for me?” asked King Tideon as he walked to the middle of the deck.

  James walked to the wall near the Captain’s cabin and pressed the ship’s intercom button. “Our King has asked me to get everyone’s attention for a moment. All hands on deck at attention, gentlemen!” announced James as he removed his thumb from the intercom button.

  A few short moments passed and all the crewmen arrived on deck and formed a line then stood at attention.

  “Now, gentlemen. Thank you, first of all, for doing this for the Kingdom and your country. Secondly, with the death of Sky Marshal Nelean, it has now fallen on you to protect the crown. Thirdly, I have appointed a new Sky Marshal…Lieutenant Plateman! He will now, from this day to his last, be known as Sky Marshal,” said King Tideon as the entire crew cheered. Everyone had begun to congratulate him on his promotion when Misty returned with the supplies James had sent for.

  “Sky Marshal, may I speak to you and Mr. Blackwin and Mr. Rewk for a moment,” asked King Tideon as he walked to where the men were standing.

  “Yes, Your Majesty. You don’t need to ask,” replied Sky Marshal Plateman as the king approached.

  “Listen…some of the captains at the Aerial Defense Department are not exactly happy with my decision on making a lieutenant the Sky Marshal, but my word is final. You will do a fine job and they will come around. When you call on them, they will come,” assured King Tideon as he shook their hands and exited the ship.

  Crew Chief Rewk blew a whistle and yelled, “All Aboard!” as he rang a bell to signal the men to load the last of the supplies.

  After a half hour passed, James found Mr. Rewk at the ship’s wheel. “I do believe we are ready to sail,” James said with excitement.

  “Aye!” answered Crew Chief Rewk as he released the docking couplings causing the ship to spew out large amounts of steam as the Crew Chief spun the ship’s wheel.

  “Full speed ahead, Mr. Rewk. I want to be at Cloud Bay by morning,” said James as the Palace grew smaller in the distance.

  Chapter Five

  The Pirate’s Call

  “Captain! I see them!” shouted a pirate form the crow’s nest.

  Derek had finally caught up with the Sky Scorcher after a day and night of searching for a trail.

  “From what direction?” shouted Joshua to the pirate as he looked through his telescope and attempted to find Derek and the other pirates.

  “Coming from a thousand yards out...to the south,” answered the man in the crow’s nest.

  “Very good. Keep an eye out to see if he was followed,” ordered Joshua as he placed the telescope back onto his belt and walked up the staircase to the helm.

  “Are they back?” asked Bill Daggs as he looked over some maps and charts of the area where the Sky Scorcher had been hid.

  “They are coming in from the south right now. I left a man on the lookout to see if they were followed. We’re vulnerable at this moment while the ship’s repairs are underway,” answered Joshua as he peeled an apple.

  “Good news, then! I’ll get Doc on deck in case he is needed,” said Bill Daggs as he reached for the intercom.

  “Very well. He should be in the medical room,” replied Joshua as he sliced a piece from the apple.

  Bill pressed the intercom button for the medical room and announced, “Doc…Derek and the others are back. You’re needed on deck.” Bill turned back to Joshua and released the intercom button.

  “Alright. I’m on my way, Mr. Daggs,” said Doctor Eiar’s voice through the intercom system.

  “Let’s go see what Derek came up with. He better not have returned empty handed,” Joshua said as he threw the rest of the apple into the trash and walked to the door.

  Derek and the others were closing in on the Sky Scorcher when he gave the signal to slow the smaller vessels down. “Steady as she goes, lads! Don’t want to crash as we come about,” ordered Derek as they began to land and steam poured out of the overflow vents. The smaller engine hummed and jerked as the gears turned slower and began to adjust to the smaller amount of steam.

  “Doc!” shouted Derek when he spotted the doctor on deck. “We have some wounded men. I’ve controlled the bleeding for the moment,” he said as he showed the doctor the blood on his hands.

  “Help me get them to the sick bay, please,” requested the doctor to some of the pirates who were working on the deck. They rushed over after hearing Doc’s shouts for help.

  “Lads, you have earned a rest. Food is waiting for you in the galley. Go and get yourselves cleaned up afterwards,” said Joshua as he watched the pirates bring the communications system out of the smaller craft.

  “I’ve seen it in action…even used it against them to get away,” laughed Derek as he stood beside Joshua.

  “So they have come up with a way to co
mmunicate from ship to ship?” pondered Joshua with his eyes fixed on the device.

  “Not only that,” explained Derek as he washed his hands in a barrel of water on the deck, “but it works over very long distances. We listened to them talk to each other from Moon and Star Palace until they must have been told that we took it.”

  “At least we know about this now. Have the engineers looked at it to see if they can figure out how it works? We’re going to be busy for a while, Derek,” said Joshua as he handed a cloth to Derek to dry his hands.

  “Now…I have a dreadful thirst. Pour me a drink and fill me in on the plan,” replied Derek as the two walked to the Captain’s Cabin.

  Bill Daggs was waiting in the cabin along with Mario, the head chef.

  “Now that you have returned, Derek, maybe the Captain will tell us what he has up his sleeve,” said Mario as he poured everyone a drink.

  “First of all, what exactly happened? We lost several men,” asked Joshua as he took a drink of the wine that Mario had poured.

  “We arrived at the crash site of one of the Department ships and Department crew was going through the wreckage. Needless to say, they never saw us coming,” Derek said with a grin. “Then the ships must have signaled for them to come back and they left the crash site. By the time we were able to get the device, we were ambushed. After I shot and killed the one leading the ambush, they broke apart. That’s when I heard the device. We loaded it onto the ship and got away,” Derek explained as the others listened to his every word.

  “How many did you kill,” asked Bill with a laugh.

  “At least ten...and we wounded that many or more,” answered Derek with a laugh as he showed no remorse.

  Joshua listened to Derek and the others as they drank and made jokes about the Department.

  “Gentlemen, there is no way that Sky Marshal Nelean could have survived that crash. To our fallen enemy!” said Joshua as he raised his glass. The others fell silent and rose their glasses to the toast.

  “I will say this,” Bill said breaking the silence after taking a drink from his glass, “He and Blackwin made a dangerous team. Too bad we didn’t get both of them…”

  “In time…maybe. As for now, my plan is to sail back to Hover Bay,” said Joshua as he leaned back in his chair.

  “Back to Hover Bay?” blurted Bill and Mario at the same time.

  “We don’t even know if it’s still in the sky! And the storms must have destroyed it by now,” said Derek as if Joshua had lost his mind.

  “I don’t think that it is destroyed at all. However, it will need repairs,” replied Joshua as he rolled out a blueprint in front of the others.

  Bill was the first to stand up and look over it.

  “What is this, Captain?” he asked with confusion before turning to Derek and Mario who also stood to get a better look.

  “You mean that you want to fortify Hover Bay?” questioned Derek as he stared at the blueprint.

  “Can that even be done?” asked Mario as he poured another round of drinks for everyone.

  “Before we go any further, let’s see if Doc has tended to the wounded and is available to join us,” Joshua said as he propped his feet on a footstool.

  Derek walked to the intercom system and pressed the button. “Doc? Are you squared away yet?” Derek asked before lifting his finger from the button and waited for a response.

  The intercom light flashed red and clicked as Doctor Eiar’s voice came through. “Almost finished. Why?” asked Doctor Eiar.

  Derek pressed the button again and replied, “Captain has requested for you to join us.”

  “I’ll finish up here and head that way,” said Doctor Eiar as he removed his hand and the light for the intercom clicked off.

  “Alright. Doc will be on his way. Why don’t you show us a little more about these blueprints while we wait,” suggested Derek as he sat back down in his chair with a drink in his hand.

  Joshua stood up and walked around the table. “You can see the area that I have circled. This must be where they attacked the pumps and fan engines. Out of all the fan engines, the ones on the west side caused the most damage, but it still wouldn’t be enough to make Hover Bay fall out of the sky,” explained Joshua. The others were all ears as they listened to Joshua’s well thought out plan.

  Several minutes passed when the door cracked open and Doctor Eiar stepped inside. Joshua looked up and saw him. “Finally! How are the wounded men?” Joshua asked as he poured the doctor a drink in a clean glass that he retrieved from his cabinet.

  “Stable. They were brought in just in time,” explained Doctor Eiar as he settled in to see what was going on.

  The others greeted Doc as they took their places around the table.

  “How long are you going to make us wait?” asked Bill Daggs as the wine hit his bloodstream.

  “I am curious about this plan myself,” added Mario as he looked over the blueprints and still felt unsure of what it meant.

  “Without further ado…I want to fortify Hover Bay and convert it into a floating fortress. I believe that war is coming. With the death of Sky Marshal Nelean, the Department and King Tideon will be out for blood,” explained Joshua as he took a large drink of his wine and gave the men time to think about what he had just said.

  “Where would we find the manpower to protect a fortress of that size? Hover Bay is not some small port on the edge of the Kingdom,” questioned Doctor Eiar with concern.

  “Good point, Doc. My question is where the armaments would come from?” asked Derek as he raised his eyebrow.

  “I had anticipated your question, Derek. Before you returned, I wrote letters and sent them out. I have called the Council of Rain. When the ship is repaired well enough to traverse the storms, they will honor the call and meet us at Hover Bay,” explained Joshua as he pulled a dagger from his side and stuck it in the blueprint.

  “You summoned the Council? So you’re serious about this?” said Bill nervously.

  “Oh, yes. Gentlemen, we’re talking about survival and preserving our way of life,” replied Joshua with his hand still on the dagger.

  “With help from the other members of the Council it may be possible, but even then, it will take more than a thousand men to make this happen,” noted Derek in an attempt to sway Joshua’s decision.

  “Derek,” Joshua said sternly, “they are going to throw everything at us now. And not to mention that we may have another enemy to face, as well. There’s no doubt that the Empire has caught wind Sky Marshal Nelean’s death.”

  “So…I suppose just laying low is out of the question then?” asked Bill Daggs quietly trying to ease the mood.

  “Bill, there is no where left to hide. The Empire is to the north. King Tideon is to the south and the Cloudkin are to the east. There’s no hiding this time. This fortress will be our best chance,” Joshua said as he slammed his hands down on the table.

  Derek stood suddenly with his glass in his hand. “Here’s to meeting our enemy head on!” he shouted.

  Everyone was hesitant for a moment until Mario stood up next to Derek. “If the Captain thinks this is our best shot,” he said as he raised his glass to meet Derek’s, “then I believe him.”

  “I’m going to need more medical supplies,” Doctor Eiar said as he joined them.

  “Don’t count me out. Someone has to fly this ship. It might as well be me,” said Bill Daggs as he leapt from his seat and raised his glass.

  “Then it’s settled!” shouted Joshua. “As soon as the ship is ready, we make for Hover Bay!”

  As they all drank from their glasses, the discussion of the details of the plan began.

  Chapter Six

  Can It Be Fixed?

  “Cloud Bay has proven useless,” said James as he slammed his fist on the railing after boarding the Man-O-War.

  Misty was waiting on the deck for his return along with Mr. Thornton and Crew Chief Rewk.

  “Nothing to go on at all?” asked Crew Chief Rewk with
surprise.

  “No. Nothing more than your bottom of the barrel pirates who were more than likely forced out of hiding from the Northern Battle!” explained James with a red face.

  “Where is Sky Marshal Plateman?” asked Misty as she tried to change the subject to calm James down.

  “Sending letters to the Department. Apparently it didn’t go over well when King Tideon told the Department heads that he had chosen a lieutenant instead of a captain,” explained James as he forgot about not having any leads for a moment.

  “How do you know that? Did something happen?” questioned Misty slightly worried that James and Sky Marshal Plateman had gotten into a fight.