Sky Scorcher 2

by Harlan J Meade

  Before you read Book Two of Sky Scorcher,

  I want to stop you for a moment and let anyone who read this know that without my amazing and talented wife, these books would just be an idea that was never realized.

  Thank you, my love.

  To my editing team:

  I can never thank you enough.

  I’m so glad that you get to come with me on this journey.

  I appreciate all you do, Alice (aka the line reader.)

  Thank you!

  Chapter One

  Pirate’s Luck

  Smoke and steam filled the lower levels of the ship as it spewed out of the stairwell forming a smoke trail that was easy for The Department airships to follow. Joshua Firebolt opened the door of the helm and found Mr. Daggs lying unconscious on the floor. He quickly grabbed the ship’s wheel and gripped it tightly in an attempt to balance the ship out. No matter what he did, the ship would not pick up speed.

  “Derek, fetch the doctor for Mr. Daggs and get someone working on the damages! We need speed as soon as possible!” shouted Joshua as he gripped the ship’s wheel even tighter to stop it from drifting.

  “What about those two Department ships coming towards us?” asked Derek as he looked out the window and saw the crew preparing the rear guns.

  “Make them pay for chasing us,” commanded Joshua with a grin.

  Derek quickly left the helm and gathered a few more pirates to go with him. “Load the guns and hurry!” commanded Derek as he scanned the deck in search of the doctor. He spotted him working with a few of the injured pirates and shouted, “Hey Doc! The captain needs you at the helm. Bill is hurt. He said for you to come right away,” explained Derek as he carried a barrel of powder for the rear cannons.

  “Alright, I’m on it,” said Doctor Eiar as he finished patching up one of the pirates.

  Before the crew could load the cannons, the Department ships began firing but their cannon balls fell short.

  “Alright, lads, let’s show them what real cannons can do. Fire!” yelled Derek, as he watched the crewmen touch fire to the powder and the cannons fired.

  The first round tore into the nearest Department ship causing the main mast to break and fall completely off the ship.

  “Keep firing until they give up or are blown out of the sky,” said Derek with a laugh.

  ***

  Doctor Eiar arrived at the helm and began to check Mr. Daggs for a concussion. “Bill? Can you hear me?” asked Doctor Eiar as he gently lifted Bill’s head and checked for broken bones.

  “How is he, Doc? And how many others are wounded?” asked Joshua as he turned to face the doctor while still grasping the wheel as tightly as he could.

  “He will live. Good thing that he is stubborn and perhaps a little drunk,” said Doctor Eiar after he smelled the stench of alcohol on Bill’s breath.

  “Good! Does he have any more drink on him?” Joshua joked before turning serious once again. “And it’s that bad, huh?” Smoke continued to pour out of the stairway.

  “We need to find a port. I’m running out of medical supplies…if that tells you anything,” answered Doctor Eiar just as Bill Daggs began to move.

  ***

  Derek left the pirates manning the cannons to find some of the engineers. They had made themselves busy by working to divert the steam so that the pressure could be relieved off the engine.

  “Hey! You lot over there! Captain needs the engine worked on so that we can get out of here,” shouted Derek at a few of the engineers. Some engineers that could be spared left to go to the engine room. Derek felt satisfied as he watched them gather the tools needed to fix the engine so that the Sky Scorcher could build up some speed. He noticed that the cannon fire had stopped at the rear cannons. Derek ran to see if they were still being followed or if there was a problem.

  “Well done, lads. The captain will be at ease now that we are no longer being chased across the sky.” Derek left and made his way back to the helm where Bill Daggs was sitting up. Doc was questioning Bill to see if he was still able to navigate the ship.

  “I’m telling you, Doc. I’ll be fine. I need to be back at the wheel,” said Bill as he pushed Doctor Eiar out of his way and stood up. Bill staggered at first but soon steadied himself.

  “Easy, Bill. Are you sure that you are up to steering?” Joshua asked as he stepped away from the ship’s wheel.

  “Yes, Captain! My apologies. It’s been a while since the ship had been hit that hard,” replied Bill Daggs.

  “A while, indeed! Bill, do you know where we could dock the ship to make repairs and to work on the engine?” asked Joshua as he watched Bill take over the ship’s wheel.

  “I know a place, but it’s going to be cold,” said Bill Daggs as he turned the ship’s wheel slightly.

  Joshua noticed that Derek was standing in the doorway and turned to face him. “Very well, Bill. You have our heading now. Derek, did you take care of those Department ships and send engineers to get us moving again?” Joshua asked as he motioned for the doctor to look at an injury on his side. Joshua raised his shirt and Doctor Eiar began to clean the wound.

  “Yes, sir,” answered Derek. “They won’t be following us anytime soon. By the time the Department picks up the pieces, we will be long gone. Engineers are working on the engine as well as the rest of the ship,” said Derek proudly.

  Derek was one of the best pirates around...besides Joshua. Derek had been recruited by Joshua when he had first stolen the Sky Scorcher from the Cloudkin. It was the only ship the Cloudkin had ever made and the most advanced of its kind.

  ”Very good. It looks like luck is on our side today,” said Joshua as he watched the crew work on the ship. The smoke had slowed down and steam was spilling out of the upper vents once again.

  “We’re finally gaining some speed again,” commented Bill Daggs as the ship jolted forward.

  “Get us out of here, Bill. If any of the Department ships were to come across us, they would be able to capture us in this vulnerable state,” said Joshua as he looked behind them and saw that they were still clear of enemies.

  “Aye, aye, Captain,” said Bill as he turned the ship’s wheel starboard and away from where they had clashed with the Department ships in battle.

  “Derek, has my cabin been repaired or patched up at least?” asked Joshua as he turned from the window and walked to the door of the helm.

  “I believe so. Want me to have a look-see for you?” asked Derek as he stepped behind Joshua at the door.

  “No, I’ll go. However, I want you and Doc to accompany me to the cabin. Bill, I’d like for you to come along too. I want to discuss some things,” explained Joshua as he walked out of the door signaling one of the crewmen to relive bill of the ships wheel.

  Derek, Bill and Doctor Eiar followed him onto the deck where the crew had already patched several of the cannon holes and had removed much of the debris from the ship. The cabin repairs had been done first but the damage had left the door difficult to close. Inside, a number of the captain’s personal belongings had been destroyed by the cannon balls impact.

  “I’m glad that I wasn’t in here when it was hit,” said Joshua with a laugh.

  “You wanted us here, Captain? How can we help?” asked Doctor Eiar as he looked around the room.

  “Did either of you notice the formations of the Department ships?” asked Joshua as he shuffled through a few things and sorted out items that were damaged too badly to salvage.

  “Not exactly…” answered Doctor Eiar as he cleaned a smudge from his glasses, “but now that you mention it, they did seem to stick together more than usual and were right on top of most of the other ships.”

  “But we shot down most of them. What exactly are you getting at, Captain?�
�� asked Derek curiously as he found a chair and sat down.

  “I believe that they have found a way to communicate from ship to ship,” said Joshua as he smiled and tugged a bottle of wine that was wedged underneath a bookshelf. Derek noticed the bottle and rose from his seat and lifted the shelf slightly so that Joshua could retrieve the bottle.

  “If that’s the case,” said Derek as he held out an empty glass for Joshua to fill, “we need one of those devices so that our engineers can figure out how it works and replicate it.”

  “That’s exactly what we need! Those crashed Department ships may be equipped with one of the devices. With Sky Marshal Nelean’s ship down, the main focus will be on the recovery of his ship and body,” explained Joshua as he popped the bottle open and began to pour drinks for the four of them. As they drank, Derek asked, “Who will you send and what if the ship is spotted?”

  “We haven’t seen another ship in quite some time, neither Department nor friendly. You are going. Pick out some of the best men you can find and one engineer to help you look for the device and bring it back here,” said Joshua cheerfully.

  “Sounds exciting,” said Derek as he finished his first glass of wine and poured himself a second. “I’ll get some of the men and ready a boat.”

  “Derek, we will be waiting a few hours west of here. Look for rocky alcoves. I’m going to keep us as close to the ground as possible. There is a decent hiding spot where we will be until the repairs are made. We’ll leave a small trail for you to follow,” commented Bill Daggs as he saluted Derek. Derek nodded in acknowledgement and left the cabin.

  Derek handpicked some of the best crewmen on the ship and armed them with supplies to help them if they were to encounter any surprises.

  “Alright, lads. Let’s get this boat over the side. The sooner we get back, the sooner we can leave for the skies. When we reach the next town, the drinks are on me,” shouted Derek with a laugh as the crewmen hoisted the boat over the side of the Sky Scorcher. Within a few minutes, the crewmen and Derek were loaded onto the smaller boat and sailing back to the battle site.

  Chapter Two

  Ambushed

  Department ships hung above the wreckage of the Sky Marshal’s ship. The ship had taken a tremendous beating from the Sky Scorcher and the other pirate ships. The Department personnel sorted through the wreckage of several ships, including any fallen pirate ships.

  “Over here!” someone yelled. Everyone stopped what they were doing and ran to the area where the voice had come from. A large crowd formed around the pile of rubble. One of the Department captains pressed his way through the crowd and asked sternly, “What’s going on?” as he moved closer to see for himself what the commotion was about.

  There in the pile of wreckage and debris, he saw the Sky Marshal’s body…lifeless but still gripping his sword.

  “I’d better report this to Headquarters,” said the Department captain as he removed his hat and pressed it to his chest as a show of respect. “Be careful with the body, gentlemen,” added the captain.

  The Department personnel carefully removed the Sky Marshal’s body from the wreckage and placed it on a boat along with several other bodies of those who hadn’t survived the crash.

  “Take that one back,” said a captain as he pointed at the smaller boat to which the Sky Marshal’s body had been taken. No one spoke as a few of the Department personnel climbed aboard the boat and started towards one of the Department ships.

  “What now, sir?” asked one of the personnel closest to the captain.

  “Any word on exactly how many ships we lost?” asked the captain as he watched the smaller boat glide along side the Department ship.

  “We lost twelve ships, sir. A total of three hundred and three souls today! We were outnumbered three to one,” answered one of the Department sailors from the captain’s ship.

  “I can’t imagine what would have happened if we hadn’t had the communications system that the Black Smith’s Guild created,” said the captain as the search for survivors continued.

  A few hours of searching passed and the captain determined that no one had survived the crashes of the twelve Department ships and thirty or more pirate ships had been destroyed.

  “It’s time to call off the search, gentlemen,” said one of the captains with sadness on his face.

  “Yes,” agreed another. “Headquarters will want a full report from all of us. Call your search party back and prepare for departure. The entire Kingdom is waiting for our return.”

  The search boats returned and the Department ships prepared for the long journey back to the Palace. Within an hour, all of the ships were loaded and ready to depart except for one which was missing a search boat and was waiting for its return.

  The other captains grew impatient and one decided to use the communications system to find the boat’s location and to see what the delay was.

  “Captain Woodard, is something wrong?” asked Captain Dekard, a captain from another ship.

  “It would appear so,” answered Woodard. “We have one search boat still out. My first mate is on it.”

  “I’ll send some of my crew to help search,” replied the Captain Dekard with concern. “It could be pirates. We didn’t check all of the downed ships. I’ll notify the other captains as well.”

  Most of the other captains were listening in on the conversation and didn’t wait for any further instructions before sending out members of their crew to aid in the search.

  “Thank you, gentlemen,” said Captain Woodard through the communications system when he saw the search boats once again leaving to search the scene of the crash. It was dark by the time the search boats arrived to where Woodard’s first mate had last been seen.

  “Look up ahead! There is a light over there!” shouted someone from one of the search boats. The boats moved closer to each other and crewmen began tethering the boats together and anchored them to the ground with long, metal spikes.

  “Arm yourselves, lads. Something’s not right,” warned one of the senior sailors of the Department. Quickly and quietly, the crewmen loaded pistols and rifles and waited for the senior sailor to take point. The crewmen marched forward and spread out slightly as they moved closer to the light. The glow from the light appeared to be on the other side of what was left of a ship’s hull.

  They stood silently and listened. They could hear someone talking but wasn’t able to see anyone due to the pile of wreckage that blocked their view.

  “I must go look and see what the situation is,” whispered the senior sailor. He motioned for everyone to stay put as he moved closer. He climbed onto a small hill of airship parts and peeked over to see who was talking.

  Almost immediately, he noticed that there were several men going through the wreckage of the Department ship without Department uniforms. “Pirates!” he said under his breath as he rushed to warn the others.

  “Hey! You over there!” shouted one of the pirates. The senior sailor thought fast and drew his pistol and fired it into the crowd of pirates. The bullet missed Derek by inches.

  “Ambush!” shouted Derek as more Department personnel began to appear and fire their guns at the pirates. The pirates didn’t return fire as the Department crew was closing in on them quickly.

  “Wait until they are right on top of us!” ordered Derek as musket fire flashed all around them. The pirates took cover behind the wreckage and waited anxiously for Derek’s command.

  The Department crew was within feet of the pirates when several of them ran out of ammunition and paused to reload.

  “Take cover!” yelled the senior sailor but Derek had yelled, “Fire!” first.

  With one swift movement, the pirates came out from hiding and fired all at once. Many of the Department crew was not able to retreat to cover fast enough to be spared from the pirates’ muskets.

  “Get the device back to the ship while they are distracted!” commanded Derek as he reloaded his rifle and simultaneously handed the device off
to one of his men. The man ran quickly to Derek’s boat as he swerved to miss debris and the returning fire of the Department while he ran.

  “Fire at will!” shouted the senior sailor as the surviving Department crew fired at the pirates once again. Several pirates were wounded by the musket fire of the Department sailors.

  The Department ships heard the musket fire and the shouts of the men involved. Captain Woodard fumbled with the communications system and finally managed to turn it on. “Our men are under fire! I’m moving my ship to support them!” shouted Captain Woodard into the mouthpiece.

  “I’ll follow your lead,” replied one of the other captains through the communications system.

  Derek, who was still within earshot of the device, heard the conversation between the captains and shouted, “Fall back!” as he looked up and saw the lights of the Department ships moving closer to them.