The First Sin

by Jessica Brawner

  In the distance, on the far side of the airfield, clanks moved in and out of massive repair hangars. They would be busy in the coming weeks, repairing all of the storm-damaged ships.

  He flagged down the first mate. “Have the men spread out and search the hangars and the surrounding area. The Indiana should be nearby if they made it through the storm.”

  “Aye, Captain. If they’re here, we’ll find them,” he saluted and made his way aft, gathering the crew.

  Turning his thoughts to the storm he and the crew had just weathered, Charles shook his head in amazement. The fact that the Blue Raven hadn’t been reduced to matchsticks, and had in fact sustained very little damage, was due entirely to the pilot. The man who hadn’t been able to bring them into a proper berth in Marseille had done an incredible job riding the storm. Clearly the man, surly and unpleasant as he was, had more skills than Charles had first imagined.

  Jacqueline

  Staring at the map of the known world tacked to the wall in the common room I asked, “Who can we ship this thing to?"

  “I’m afraid all of my family are good Catholics, so no help for us there,” Seamus replied.

  "I don't have much in the way of family, and my friends are either here, or in the English Air Corps, and I can't imaging sending it to someone in the Air Corps would be a good idea if we ever want to recover it for ourselves." Tyler said apologetically.

  I nodded agreement.

  "There is my Mother, in Africa,” Nina said.

  “Africa.” From the silence behind me I knew they were all staring with incredulity. Marie laughed, a note of hysteria tinging her voice. “You want to send the Miter to Africa?”

  “I’m fairly certain they wouldn’t expect it.” I replied.

  “It’s not the craziest thing we’ve ever done,” Nina said. “It would be harder for us to recover, but we could send the Miter to my mother. Her village is remote, and my mother is not Catholic. And it is doubtful that anyone in the village, even if they found out about the Miter, would even know how to contact the church.”

  Tyler raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know it was even possible to send items to Africa.”

  “There are some complications, and items must be carefully packaged. It is not a quick transit time, but I send things from time to time.” Nina replied.

  I was intrigued with this possibility. Nina was notoriously closemouthed about where she came from. "Where is she located?"

  "She is based in Jebel Kumra in the heart of Africa. My people maintain a tribal communication network. It will take months for it to arrive, and must be packaged very specifically, but it will get there barring normal hazards of sending packages."

  "Will she keep it for you?" Seamus asked.

  "I believe so. She would not have reason to send it anywhere else."

  Looking around the table I saw agreement in everyone's faces. "Very well, we shall send it to your mother. How does it need to be packaged so that it remains safe?"

  She thought for a moment. "I'll need a sturdy wooden box twice the size of the Miter, fabric to wrap the hat in, waterproofing paper, a bolt of muslin, three spools of copper wire, a packet of steel needles and a spool of thread, two small bags of multicolored glass beads, and a slightly worn pair of men's shoes, sized narrow."

  "Men's shoes? Glass beads?" Marie said with puzzlement.

  "Aye. Essentially payment for postage along the route. It will only go via the postal system so far, and then we must rely on African methods." Nina shrugged. "It is unconventional by European standards, but it works quite well."

  I was fascinated and curious to see how she would put the parcel together. We had never traveled to Africa, and there was much speculation about what could be found down there.

  Henri, Marie, Niccolò and Nina left to find the supplies while Seamus built a box matching Nina’s specification. Some hours later the four of them returned. Nina and Niccolò left to package up the Miter.

  “Henri! Come join us. Tyler and I have worked out a plan to take the Vatican ship. Tell us where we’re likely to get our asses shot off.” My heart spared a moment to think of David, but he had to make his own decision in this.

  Nina and Niccolò dropped off the crate. I hadn’t seen it, but they told me that the Miter lay wrapped in waterproof cloth under a false bottom with the other goods on top, David’s tracker secured in the lining. The repair crew was gone for the evening – they made significant progress during the day, re-stringing cables and patching the balloon. The roof to the cavernous hangar was lost in the distance above us.

  The biggest problem was now the engine. It would run, but the catalyst pin – a heavy, heat resistant, metal bar that helped regulate the heat going to the balloons, was bent. Either we’d rise too fast, or not at all until it was fixed.

  The plan, in the end, was simple enough. Under cover of darkness we would board the Vatican ship, subdue any sentries, round up the rest of the Vatican crew and take them prisoner. Marie had a couple of the sleep grenades prepared, I had one and Tyler had one, and the rest of the crew would carry the electroshock devices in addition to their normal weapons.

  We should have been more prepared. We were prepared to board their ship we were not prepared for what happened.

  David’s shout alerted us to their presence moments before they swarmed the deck of The Indiana. Blue and gold clad soldiers dropped in from above, some sliding silently down ropes with practiced precision, others gliding in wearing specially designed suits with wing webbing under the arms for maneuverability in the air.

  “Marie! Emergency launch, now!” I shouted into one of the speaking tubes going down to the engine room.

  "Nina, Tyler, get up here!" I shouted into the next tube over.

  There were five soldiers on deck already, and I could see more coming. Two more were tangled in The Indiana’s cabling, hacking at their own rappelling lines trying to release themselves. David had one of Marie’s electroshock devices in one hand and was trying to get close enough to one of the soldiers to use it. Another soldier landed on deck. I lowered my shoulder and ran, using my full body weight to knock him over the side before he could get out of his rig. He was meaty, and heavier than I expected. The impact jarred my shoulder down to my fingertips, but he tumbled over the railing. One of the other soldiers made a grab for me and I ducked, taking out my dagger.

  From the corner of my eye I saw Nina sprinting for the pilot’s chair with Tyler right behind her. He ran for the emergency release lever at the prow of the ship as Seamus ran for the one at the stern. I knew that when they had line of sight with each other they would depress the linked levers.

  I heard their shout and the ship shuddered and jerked as the mooring cables were cut. Two of the soldiers lost their footing. We began to rise in the air, much too fast. A terrible scraping noise filled the air with the sound of rending wood and iron. The repair clanks were still below us, and we hadn't cleared the cradle.

  Looking over the side of the ship I could see the release lever some twenty feet below us. Without stopping to think, I grabbed a thick cable, and jumped over the side of The Indiana. Wind whistled past my ears as I swung over to the giant clank and released the cradle lever. As the giant arms came down the ship rose to the upper regions of the massive hangar, leaving me dangling precariously in midair. Hand over hand, I climbed the cable, my left arm still numb from my earlier encounter. The hangar floor danced crazily below me. The wind from our ascent spun me around in circles; the repair crew’s safety net a mere suggestion of gauze as the loose cable swung free.

  I struggled over the railing, my fingertips grasping at the smooth wood. There were three soldiers surrounding David and Seamus on deck, none of them looking my direction. I grabbed a belay pin and clubbed the nearest one in the back of the head. He fell like a stone, a surprised expression on his face. My momentary distraction was all that Seamus needed to finish off the soldier in front of him. I could see more soldiers gliding through the air trying to a
ngle their rigs to land on the deck. The soldier attacking David pressed his attack.

  With the airship rising quickly, Nina steered us expertly out of the hangar before we hit the roof. I could see the airhoppers the Swiss Guard had used scattered in the air below us.

  David stumbled and grabbed the doorframe as the ship rocked. Suddenly looking green he raced for the railing, barely making it before losing the contents of his stomach. We were gaining altitude quickly and my ears popped several times in succession.

  "Nina, head for Crete. I don't think we've irritated anyone there yet." The airfield and Palermo fell away, spinning below us into an indiscernible morass of speckled lamplight.

  Nina swung the ship, already high in the atmosphere, around without a word.

  "Can you keep us hidden from the Palermo airfield? Charles is sure to follow." I rubbed my arms. We had risen quickly and this high up the air was cold and would only get colder.

  "I'll keep us high for as long as I can. Too much though and we'll either freeze or suffocate. Can you grab my coat and gloves from below?" Nina asked.

  I put on my coat and brought up Nina’s coat and gloves as well. Her teeth were chattering by the time I got back. I took over the wheel for a moment while she dressed and warmed her fingers. The rest of the crew was below. "Nina, if they capture us, turn me over right away, and then the rest of you scatter and lay low for a while. There's no reason for the rest of you to suffer my mistakes."

  "You know I’m not going to do that, Captain."

  "Nina, you will. I don't want to hear any arguments. I will tell them I was acting on my own and you all were just following orders."

  "You know the rest of ’em aren't going to go along with that either, right?" She took the wheel back after pulling on her gloves and turning up the fur lining of her hood.

  “We're not going to leave you behind to save ourselves. Now if you don't mind, I have a ship to fly."

  Jacqueline

  We stayed in the upper atmosphere until we were all so cold, and dizzy from lack of air that we were seeing things that weren’t there. As a bet once, Nina had taken us up this high before. It's beautiful up there, and quiet. Even during the brightest point of day you can see the starfield. I had no time to admire the view. We were still rising too fast, and Marie was working to bypass the catalyst pin.

  The air was scarce and thin and it was hard to breathe. We all moved slowly and deliberately. I had to hold on to the railings to keep from falling as my head reeled.

  Using my spyglass to see if we were being followed I caught a glimpse of the Vatican ship. They were at a considerably lower altitude, and nearly directly below us. They seemed to be searching for us on the same plane of their flight path.

  "Captain, I'm taking us down a thousand feet. Any longer up here and we'll do permanent damage to ourselves. I’ll keep us directly above them and out of sight for as long as I can." Nina's lips were blue, and a dusting of frost had formed on her eyebrows and lips.

  I nodded, short of breath. “We’re going to have to opt for speed. Normally I’d say keep us in their blind spot in the sun, but we can’t stay at this altitude. When we hit the warm airstream below us, give us as much speed as you can get. We won’t be able to control our altitude reliably until Marie fixes that pin.”

  As The Indiana descended Nina's lips lost the blue tinge, and I could feel my blood start to flow again.

  I went below. The rest of the crew, except Marie, was here, gathering what warmth they could. "Niccolò, switch our colors over to the Bessie Quinn. We're making for Crete. Tyler and Seamus we need lookouts above – we’re opting for speed instead of stealth. Keep an eye on our own blind spot, we don’t need any surprises." I took a sip of coffee, wrapping my fingers gratefully around the warm cup and looked at the rest of the crew. "The Vatican ship is below us…

  I was cut short by a loud crashing noise and found myself flying across the room. I hit the wall and felt the breath woosh out of my lungs. My head was ringing. The rest of the crew lay in a jumble of moving arms and legs, trying to untangle themselves. I staggered upright and ran up on deck. Nina was slumped over her console, blood dripping from a cut on her cheek.

  A motley crew of men swarmed the deck. Their ship, a hulking, weatherworn silhouette in the darkness, lay close against the starboard side of The Indiana. They had slammed into us, using grappling hooks on the railing to tie the two ships together. Rovers – pirates, flying the skull and crossbones in black and white.

  One of the men leaned over Nina, a belay pin in one hand. Bending, I drew out my boot knife and threw it as hard as I could. It appeared in the middle of his back, and he fell across Nina's body, pushing the steering wheel and causing the ship to lurch.

  I shouted: "We're under attack! Rovers!"

  Pulling out my other dagger, I ran at the nearest pirate, slamming into him with my shoulder. He fell and slid across the deck. My momentum carried me halfway to the railing with him. We were still tilting at an odd angle and I fought my way up to the steering deck and Nina. Tyler, Seamus and the rest of the crew poured out of the hold brandishing what weapons they could find. Niccolò I noticed from the corner of my eye, had armed himself with a kitchen knife and heavy skillet.

  On the steering deck, a man with long greasy locks and threadbare clothes was trying to pull his fallen companion off the steering column. The man's belay pin had fallen and rolled towards the stairs of the main deck. I scooped it up and cracked him across the back of the head with it. He stood for a moment, stunned, and then toppled forward. I rolled him out of the way and retrieved my dagger before shoving the dead man off Nina.

  The steering wheel, suddenly free of his weight, righted itself, causing the ship to lurch the other way, throwing friend and foe alike to the ground. I hit the communication lever and shouted down to Marie. "Fire the Turbines!"

  A hulking brute of a man slammed a sword down, cutting the communication tube in half. He chuckled cruelly as I backed away, my two knives crossed in front of me suddenly seeming inadequate.

  "You must be the infamous Captain Jac. When I saw your little boat sailing around up here all by itself, I thought to myself, well now, wouldn't that make a pretty little prize. And you with no lookouts posted." He laughed evilly. “It was the easiest thing in the world to come in out of the sun and take you by surprise. And then of course, I get to say I'm the one that took you out. That'll be a nice feather in my cap for sure. Captain Gillian, the Rover who bested Jac. You're a lot smaller than I thought you'd be, to be honest."

  I stood up straight and looked at him, eyes full of disdain as my anger bubbled to the surface. "Seriously? That's why you attacked us? I'm in the middle of a high-profile job, I do not have time for this. Get off my ship.”

  He laughed again. "Or what? You’ll kill me? Seems unlikely. I, however, will enjoy killing you quite a bit." He pulled a pistol out of his belt. Lunging, I caught him off guard as he fired his weapon wildly. I didn't manage to do more than slice his belt. His fetid breath made me wrinkle my nose in disgust.

  Ugh. Rovers. The scum of the airways. I maneuvered so the railing was at my back. He rushed me, the barrel of his pistol gripped in one hand, swinging it like a club. I kicked him in the stomach, then grabbed his arms and, with foot still planted in his belly, rolled backwards and tossed him over me. He went sailing over the railing, a startled look on his face.

  Tyler and Seamus both bravely fended off attackers. Niccolò dodged between the clusters of fighters, hitting people in the kneecaps with his skillet. I could hear Henri shouting, but couldn't see him. Suddenly, a piercing whistle came from the doorway to the hold. Everyone looked up as two silver spheres came rolling out on deck. Seamus and Niccolò dove to the deck and covered their heads with their arms. Tyler ducked behind an overturned barrel. Our attackers looked on bewildered, with the smarter ones taking cues from the crew and ducking. The spheres began spinning, shooting needles out in all directions.

  One of the pirates plucked a n
eedle out of his arm, holding it up and chuckling. "You thought to stop us with these tiny splinters?" He laughed. Then, looking surprised he slowly fell forward on his face. I winced to see it; he did not fall lightly.

  One by one the other pirates fell, landing heavily on the deck. Only two had avoided the fate of their companions and quickly surrendered. Tyler and Seamus tied both their hands.

  I pointed my dagger at one of the conscious men. "You. What's your name?"

  "D..d... Daron," the man stuttered out.

  I pointed to the hulking shape off our starboard side, the grand poche looming above ours, casting shade across the entire deck. The paint on the side said Dreadnought. Its grand poche was mottled in hues of dark blue, dirty white and various shades of grey, and the scarring on the hull showed it had survived many engagements.

  "How many men still aboard your ship?"

  "Only two others. The ship's boy and the pilot."

  I nodded, putting the point of my dagger under his chin. “Who do you work for? How did you know about us?”

  Daron’s face turned pale, “I… I don’t know. The Captain – he knows those things, not me.”

  I pressed the dagger more firmly, the point drawing a slow trickle of blood. “Who. Do. You. Work. For.”

  “I swear lady – I swear I don’t know. We… the crew I mean, we didn’t want to attack. The Captain insisted.”

  "We're going over there. You're coming with us. If you're lying, you'll be the first to die. I will personally see to that."

  He paled slightly but nodded. I continued, "I'm not looking to kill anyone else, nor do I have any desire to take your ship. We're going to disable it so you don't take it into your head to follow us. If you and your two crew members over there cooperate, then that's how it will go. If you don't cooperate, then we'll kill you all and scuttle the ship. Understand?"

  His eyes widened in panic. "I'll make sure they cooperate, ma'am."

  "Good. Tyler, Seamus, come with me." I saw David standing in the doorway leading down to the hold, looking lost. “David, help Henri with Nina if you would.” I freed Daron's hands. "We're going to swing over."