Sky Ship

by Robert P McAuley

  The light of the opened Loading Ramp drew Jennifer’s attention and she started to make her way cautiously towards it. The flash of lightning caused Jennifer to miss the body on the walkway and she tripped over it. She looked down and saw a bloody Salam, with an arrow stuck in his belly, suddenly reach up and grab her by the leg. She screamed as he pulled her to the floor and tried to put a gun to her head.

  “You bastard killer!” she yelled in his face, “You bastard baby killing son-of-a-bitch!” She shouted and the rage in her face startled the terrorists. He was not used to having a female yell at him and he was momentarily stunned. She kneed him in his stomach and felt him contract as she pushed the arrow in even deeper. He went limp and she grabbed his pistol. With a silent sob, Jennifer headed towards the slightly lighter patch of color that represented the opening in the airship’s floor. She looked and was about to leave when she saw a flap of white wave in the rushing wind. Following it, she saw a hand and then it came together. It was Dan, and he was holding on for life. “Dan! Hold on, I’m coming.”

  “The box! The box on the wall behind you hon, hurry.”

  Jennifer looked back into the darker interior and a flash of lightning showed her the red handle. She ran to it and pressed UP. She then helped Dan back to safety.

  “Where? Where . . .where is that man?”

  “We dropped him off, babe.” He said as he noticed the blood on Jennifer as he helped her to her feet. “Honey, you're hurt! Did you get shot?”

  “No . . . Hold me, hold me tight, Dan.”

  They embraced.

  “You did great, kid.”

  “Thanks . . . so did you. And here,” she picked up the dead man’s gun from where she dropped it as she operated the ramp, “you take this.”

  “Finally, a weapon from this generation!” Dan smiled as he took the gun and removed the clip from its handle to check the cartridges. One popped out and as he looked at it in the palm of his hand, he said sarcastically, “Oh yeah! This is definitely my lucky day.”

  He grinned, put his arm around his wife and said, as he steered her back towards the room, “Honey, that’s two less bad guys that would hurt our little girls.” She looked up at him with a forced grin as they went along the hull walkway back to their room at the rear.

  In the Passenger’s Lounge, Colonel Aziz stood by one of the windows as he watched the storm that now raged outside the ship. Lightning flashes only intensified the furious look on his face. He looked at his watch and spun around and faced Hadi. He saw malice in his underling’s eyes. “How long?” he asked, “How long have those two incompetents been in there?”

  “Hadi checked his watch. “We put the lights out fifty-five minutes ago. Perhaps we should go to look for them, Colonel?”

  “Forget them; they're dead. Tell Karim to restore the lights.”

  “Why?” asked Hadi with outspread arms and hunched shoulders, “If we leave him in the dark . . .”

  Aziz slammed his hand against the window glass. “Who do you think I am?” he began to pace as he shouted at Hadi. “He has the goggles now! We must take the advantage away from him!”

  Hadi saluted, turned and with a smirk on his face behind the Colonel's back, went over to the intercom. “Karim, reset the lights in the interior.”

  Karim’s voice came back jubilant, “Did we kill the pig, Hadi? Did we avenge our brothers?” The pilot looked at his mike and wondered why Hadi just turned it off instead of answering him. He shook his head as he thought, Thank heaven I’m just a pilot. Who can understand those in charge? Not me.

  It's sunny at the Miami Zoo and Marie sat under a tree as she and the girls ate ice cream. Annie asked, “Aunt Marie, what do you think mommy and daddy are doing right now? Having ice cream too?”

  Marie smiled and answered her little niece; “They probably have the window open in their room as they fly over coconut trees, and reach out and pick one for breakfast.”

  “Wow!” said Penelope, as they both tried to imagine their parents eating freshly picked coconuts.

  Once again Jennifer is bandaging Dan and as she did so, she leaned against his knee. He reeled back with a yelp! “Ohhh, hon, that hurts.” He shook his head, “I think you have to treat me as just one big hurt, babe.” The walkie-talkie on the cot beeped and Dan grabbed it. “Sky Ship Emergency Room.”

  “Dan, are you all right, lad?”

  “To be honest, Jim, I'm starting to wish I'd taken a couple of days off.” He got serious, “Listen, Jim, we took out two more. There should be seven left, including one who's welded into the Engine Room.”

  “Damn! Nice work, lad!”

  “Thanks, Jim but let's face facts, if I don't get into the gondola, there's not much chance of stopping these guys.”

  “It's true . . . but you're only one man - the odds are better if we hostages rush the guards.”

  Dan shook his head, “Too soon for that, Jim. There could be five Uzis waiting for you in that hallway. It'd be a bloodbath. No, I've gotta get into the Control Room. The question is: How?

  “Hmm. This might sound like a funny question, lad, but: Can you swim?”

  “Yeah, but not faster than the ship can fly, so I sort of hafta stay aboard.”

  “No lad,” Jim answered, “no more going overboard. Listen, along the hull, just before the gondola, there’s a ballast tank. In that tank is a few tons of water that we dump when taking off, remember?”

  Dan nodded, “Yeah, I remember seeing those ground handlers get soaked a few times.”

  “Well,” continued Jim, “the tank is positioned smack dab between you and the gondola. There’s a hatch on your side, and another inside an inspection room, in the hallway by the passenger rooms.”

  “Okay, Jim. I can check the location out on one of the workstation computers. But, what do you want me to do?”

  Jim took a deep breath and answered, “Ahh Danny Boy. I’m asking ya to take a wee swim. From your hatch, to the hatch on our side of that door. Are ya up to it, laddie?”

  “Well James, I quit smoking years ago just in case I had to hold my breath for a long, long time. So, I guess it’s time to find out if I stopped soon enough. Let me go and check it out. Hope to get back to you real soon so sit tight Jim.”

  “Good luck laddie, good luck.”

  Dan stood by the small workstation computer with Jennifer. “Watch hon,” he said as he typed in his password. “Now we type in whatever we want to know about the position we’re at, or as in this case, bring up the ship’s diagram.” He typed in ‘SKY SHIP DIAGRAM; PLAN VIEW’ and instantly the diagram appeared that showed the airship from top to hull. Jim ran his finger along the line that represented the hull walkway. He got to a rectangular shape and as he touched it, type appeared next to it. It read, ‘WATER BALLST TANK.’ “That’s it!” Dan said as he traced the route he had to take to get past the door that blocked his entrance into the front section of the ship. He looked at Jennifer and removed the bow and passed it to her.

  “What are you doing, Dan?” she asked with a furrow on her brow.

  He smiled, “Hey, hon, I can’t swim with this on my back. It makes sense for you to hold it for me. And,” he said as he passed her the quiver full of arrows, “what the heck, why not practice with it while I’m gone?”

  “But I thought they dropped the water ballast when we took off?”

  “Not all of it. They save some in case they need it while landing.

  She hugged him and said in a low voice, “Dan, I know you have to do this, but please promise me that you won’t take any crazy chances. Please come back to me. Promise?”

  He looked down at her and with a smile said, “Promise. You know, I want to see you again too, babe. You and the girls. I’ll be back.” He kissed her and pointed to the rear, “Now, go back to the room. I really doubt they’re gonna send out any more of their troops into this section.”

  He stood and watched as his wife walked slowly down the hull walkway back to the Auxiliary Control Room. Only when s
he was out of sight did Dan walk in the other direction. He had the pistol with one bullet tucked in his belt as he ran in a crouch towards where the computer said the ballast tank was located.

  Suddenly he was there. Wow! he thought as he looked at it. I would have passed by this a million times and never knew it was a water tank. It was nothing more than a thirty-inch square hatch with type stenciled on it that read; ‘WATER BALLAST TANK INSPECTION HATCH # ONE.’ Dan opened the hatch and peered inside. Now he realized why he never saw it for what it was, it was beneath the level of the hull walkway. The only evidence of a tank was a small hatch cover. “Oh well,” he said as he sat down and removed his shoes, “don’t want to get water in my shoes.” He then opened the hatch and saw small Led lights that ran along the top of the tank. They were encased in glass protection domes. A ladder was attached to the tank wall right beneath the hatch and Dan started down.

  Damn, this place is big! thought Dan as he looked around. He couldn’t tell the depth, but the tank was about twenty-five feet long, and according to the white lines that marked the depth, was three-quarters full. The ship had a slightly rocking motion because of the storm and the water made small waves running. First the wave slapped one end, then returned and slapped the other end. “Well,” he said without realizing he was speaking to himself, “here goes nothing.”

  He entered the water and felt a chill run through him. Hope, it’s just the cold water and not an omen, he thought as he kicked off towards the other end of the tank. He got to the end and with the help of the dim lights, located the other hatch. “Just like they advertised it,” he said and immediately got a mouthful of water. Teach you to think out loud, he thought as he heaved himself up the ladder. He gently pushed up the hatch cover and saw no light whatsoever.

  Inside a closet-sized room marked, ‘WATER BALLAST TANK INSPECTION HATCH # TWO’, the hatch cover opened and Dan climbed out of the opening. He started to lower the hatch, then thought, No, better leave it open in case I have to make a fast break. He opened the door a crack. The hallway was empty. He removed the pistol from his belt and stepped out of the room. He tiptoed to another hallway that intersected his; it was the hallway between the passenger’s rooms with the guards.

  Rashid sat facing the door to the interior. Hadi paced. The colonel’s inactivity had him in a rage, coiled and ready to spring.

  Dan got to the intersection and did a quick peek around the corner. At that moment both terrorists were facing away from him, one sat as the other paced away. He then eyed the door to the stairs to the gondola, his goal. That’s where I have to be, and that means I have to walk past their view, he thought as he timed Hadi’s pace. Dan peeked at Hadi and Rashid, and then broke for the door with his pass-card ready. He made it, but when he went to insert the card, his wet fingers caused him to drop it. He bent over to retrieve it when suddenly Hadi’s voice got a decisive sound to it.

  Hadi slammed his fist into his opened palm. Rashid watched as he said in a high, terror filled voice, “That does it! I've waited long enough! I must act now!” He headed towards the hallway with the door that led to the gondola . . . the same hallway that Dan is standing in with his, one bullet pistol ready. Dan quickly tried the doorknob, but it was locked and there was no time to try the pass-card again. He turned to face the terrorist he heard coming, but at the last second the man stopped and spoke to the other guard.

  Hadi ranted to Rashid, “From this point on, I am in charge of this mission! Are you with me Rashid? We need to act now!”

  Dan grabbed the opportunity to pocket the pass-card and dash past the two guards again without them seeing him. He entered the small inspection room again and closed the door behind him.

  Hadi was still ranting as he got the courage to confront his superior officer and commit mutiny. “For the good of the mission, Colonel Aziz must die!” He walked briskly to the door to of the stairway to the gondola. He had his weapon ready to remove the colonel. Why not now? he thought, General Aziz is my real commander and he said after the mission has been completed, kill his brother, take his parachute and jump and be saved. Why wait? Committed, he put his hand on the doorknob. He suddenly looked at his hand, It’s wet, he thought. He looked at the storm that raged outside the ship and was puzzled. How could water get on the knob? He instinctively looked up at the ceiling for a leak. None, he thought, then looked down and saw a dark wet stain on the light blue rug. He turned and saw another wet spot on the rug, then another and it led to an inspection room.

  “What?” He walked fast then broke into a run as he realized someone was in that room. He flung the door open and entered.

  Dan saw the door open, as he had expected, and flung himself at the man. The man went into a crouched position after he entered the room, and Dan grabbed him. As they grappled, Dan knew the other guard would quickly join his partner and he had to leave right away. He threw the terrorist through the open inspection hatch and jumped in after him. Dan jumped on the man’s head and shoulders as he entered the water. He grabbed the stunned Hadi and tried to choke him. Hadi swiveled underwater and got Dan in a vice-like leg grip around Dan’s waist. His thigh muscles were squeezing the air out of him. Dan did a Three Stooges finger gouge in Hadi’s eyes and he screamed and released his grip as he reeled away from Dan. Dan swam as fast as he could, but he was hurt by so many falls and blows over the past hours that he was tiring fast. He finally reached the ladder and started up the rungs. Out of nowhere Hadi grabbed his leg and used the leverage of his legs against the tank walls to stop Dan from leaving the tank.

  Dan reached down and grabbed Hadi by his thick mustache and pulled. Hadi shrieked and as he lets go to remove Dan’s hands from the sensitive facial hair, Dan kicked him in his nose. A distinct crack was heard as Hadi screamed some more. Dan started back up the ladder, but a determined Hadi grabbed his leg again and this time Dan is torn off the ladder. They both go under fighting.

  Rashid ran into the small room and saw the men fighting in the water. He aimed his weapon but couldn’t tell who was who. He looked through the open door at the passenger’s rooms. What should I do? he thought as he tried to see if he could see Hadi in the dark water. He remembered the colonel saying directly to him, “We must keep the passenger’s calm, we do not want a rabble of peasants trying to be heroes. Keep a presence at their doors at all times.” He turned and ran to the door, then down the stairs that went to the door of the gondola. He knocked and Colonel Aziz opened it.

  “Rashid? What are you doing here? Who is doing your guard duty, Hadi?”

  “No my colonel,” he answered in a pleading tone, “he is fighting the archer in a vat of water.”

  “A vat of water?” asked a puzzled Aziz. “Where is such a vat? Take me there at once!” He turned to Karim and ordered, “Stay at your post.”

  Rashid ran up the stairs and into the passenger’s lounge with the colonel right behind him. They arrive at the open door and Aziz entered and looked into the open hatch. Fighting and curses are almost drowned out by the splashing of the water. Aziz lifted his Uzi and fired a short burst at them.

  “Be careful colonel,” Rashid said, “you may shoot the wrong man.” Aziz laughed and quipped, “Oh? And who may that be?” Rashid just stared at him. The colonel fired some more then turned to Rashid and shouted, “Get back to your post. Guard those passengers immediately! Or I’ll shoot you too!” Rashid did a fast salute and ran back to the hallway between the passenger rooms.

  Suddenly, Dan kicked free of Hadi and swam desperately for the surface.

  He broke the surface and gulped the air. “Ohh, damn!” he said as he felt Hadi once again grab for him. He threw a punch that lacked power. Suddenly, shots hit the water around his head. “Damn!” he said and ducked under again.

  Aziz saw a second man as Hadi broke the surface. He and Aziz make eye contact. Aziz abruptly ran out of the room and back to the gondola.

  Now Dan's swimming hard for the ladder on the far side of the tank, where he first came in. Had
i is swimming after him. Both men leave a trail of blood.

  Colonel Aziz bursts into the gondola, shoved Karim out of the way and goes to the instrument’s panel. “The water ballast release switch, or button or however you get rid of the water ballast! Where is it?”

  Karim pointed to a red button with a guard over it. “There, Colonel. But, don’t . . .”

  Aziz threw back the safety guard and pressed the red button.”

  Karim screamed, “Colonel Aziz, do not touch that button. We will rise if you do. Please I implore . . .”

  Aziz had a demonic look on his face that made the pilot quit trying to stop him from dumping the water ballast. He depressed the button and an outside door on the ship’s belly slid to the rear. Water cascaded out of the ballast tank as a warning bell rang in the gondola and the airship, now lightened, started to rise faster and faster.

  Meanwhile inside the tank Dan struggled to reach the ladder as the water whirl pooled down. He got a bandaged hand on a rung just as Hadi grabbed him again. “Damn!” Dan said through clenched teeth, “This is getting old real fast.” A very pissed off Dan turned and slammed Hadi with a wicked elbow to the face. Hadi fell backwards into the water and is sucked down and out in a flood of water into the dark clouds that surround the rising airship. Dan clutched the ladder with both hands as cold air rushed in to take the place of the water.

  Karim pointed down as Hadi fell in the column of water towards the ocean hundreds of feet below. “My colonel! It was Hadi! Hadi fell out with the ballast water.” He turned and in a very low voice said, “Hadi! You- you killed Hadi!

  Aziz placed the safety cover back over the dump button and shrugged his shoulders. “Enough! Make sure we stay on schedule! We have a mission to finish. Carry on.” He went back to the front of the gondola and put the ever-present binoculars up to his eyes.