“Now, Misty, what’s on your mind?” asked James as everyone turned to face her.
“We know that the Empire ships were battle damaged and more importantly, we know what cargo they were carrying. They must have been spreading the Empire’s propaganda when the Cloudkin saw them and engaged them. Normally, Cloudkin don’t attack without a cause,” Misty said as she walked to James’ side.
James looked to the Sky Marshal Plateman. “See, it would be official business of the King. You have trusted me this far on this journey. I will continue to keep the best interests of the Kingdom and its people above all else,” said James with confidence.
“You’re right, James. Forgive me for my doubts. It’s settled. We are going to the Forest of Mist,” announced Sky Marshal Plateman as he dunked his tobacco pipe to clean it out.
“Sir, if I may now that it is established that we are going, you should wear the crest all the time. Once the letters have been received, everyone will know where we’re at and who you are,” suggested Rachael as she stood beside the Lieutenant Commander on the opposite side of the desk.
Sky Marshal Plateman looked at James for some kind of approval.
“There’s no hiding it now. Besides, from here on out, it’s going to be much more dangerous. It may cut us some slack if people know and it will most certainly help if the Cloudkin know who you are,” said James as he smiled and casually stretched out his arms.
“Well then, that’s what I will do. Thank you, Rachael. Now, it’s getting late. Tomorrow will be a long day. We have much to do before we are ready to sail to the Forest of Mist,” Sky Marshal Plateman said as he looked at the large clock on the wall.
“I agree. Misty, did you make arrangements for our crew at the King’s Crown Inn?” asked James as he turned back to Misty.
“Yes. They should get a good night’s rest,” Misty assured as she walked back to the chair to retrieve her pack.
“Very good. Plateman, I’m going to take Misty and Mr. Rewk to show them to their rooms. I’ll see you first thing in the morning to work out the details of the plan,” James said before collecting his things and leaving the room.
***
“Turn it on now,” shouted Jack to let one of the engineers know that the fan was ready to be powered up. The engineer pulled the switch and with a loud pop and a puff of black smoke, the giant fan began to spin. Joshua watched from the deck of the Sky Scorcher as Hover Bay began to balance back out.
“It’s working, Jack!” said Mr. Reen with excitement. Jack breathed a sigh of relief through his mask causing his goggles to fog up slightly.
“Now we can send a few men to repair the ship. I will continue the constructions here, Mr. Reen. Take what equipment you need and make the Captain aware that we’re going to start on the pumps now,” said Jack as he took off his thick, insulated gloves and his goggles.
“Alright. He should be pleased with our progress,” said Mr. Reen as he threw some tools in a tool box and headed in the direction of the Sky Scorcher.
Jack pulled out a copy of the blueprints for Hover Bay to locate the entrance for the engine room of the pumps. “This way!” he shouted as he pointed to an access door that led to the pump’s engine room.
Jack opened the door and saw that large parts of the room had been damaged by bombardment during the assault. “Let’s get some support beams down on the floor. The only thing below us is air if the floor falls through,” explained Jack as his engineers began to place the support beams down.
As the crew began to work on the floor of the room, Jack took a few of the men to bring in the equipment needed to repair the pump’s engine.
After all the fans were all working properly, Joshua and Derek set up headquarters in the Market Square. Dr. Eiar had started bringing wounded crewmen off the ship, gathered medical supplies, and had set up in the Market Square next to the new headquarters.
When Jack arrived at the lay down yard, he overhead Joshua talking to Dr. Eiar. When Joshua spotted Jack, he called out to him. “Well done, Jack my boy!” said Joshua looking pleased with the work.
“Thank you, Captain. We have begun working on the pump’s engine in the area where the storms have taken over the city. It won’t be long until we have all of Hover Bay back,” explained Jack as he pointed out various tools and equipment needed to finish the reconstruction of the engine.
“Perfect. I expect the first Council members to arrive tomorrow,” said Joshua as he watched the crew gather the tools and equipment that Jack had pointed out.
“The pumps will be finished by then,” replied Jack confidently.
“Captain! We found someone!” shouted a crewman as he approached Joshua. Joshua spun around and saw two of the crewmen holding a well dressed man with a black bag over his head and his hands tied behind his back.
“Easy, lads! I know this man,” ordered Joshua as the crewmen pushed the captured man to his knees. Joshua walked to the kneeling man and pulled the bag from his head.
“Firebolt!” said the man as he breathed a sigh of relief.
“Drake Mattus! What in sun fire are you still doing in Hover Bay?” questioned Joshua as he bent down and cut the rope that bound Drake’s hands.
“I couldn’t leave my store,” explained Drake as he stood to his feet. “After the attack, several pirates returned here and looted several of the other shops.”
The two pirates started to step forward but Joshua held out his hand. “Stand down, lads. He means me no harm. After all, he is my tailor,” laughed Joshua as he placed his arm around Drake’s neck.
Drake looked around and saw the equipment. “You have been busy,” he said as he watched the crew of the Sky Scorcher working.
“Not me. It’s all the handy work of Mr. Spears…just my idea,” explained Joshua with a laugh.
“Nice to meet you, boy,” said Drake as he reached out his hand to Jack.
“You as well, Mr. Mattus. I have heard of your store,” Jack said as he shook Drake’s hand.
“Now that you have been properly introduced, let’s get you some food,” Joshua said to Drake as he patted him on the back. “Jack, when you and the men get the pumps working again, get some rest. You have done well today,” Joshua said to the engineers as he took Drake to the newly established headquarters.
Jack watched Joshua and Mr. Mattus disappear into the building before going to check the progress of the crewmen who were working on the rooms with the pumps. He could hear the loud sound of the torches cutting metal and saws buzzing as the crew removed the damaged pump engines. “How’s it coming along, lads?” he asked as he stepped into the room and onto the new metal floor.
“We hit a snag, but we have been working around it until you came back,” said an engineer as he pointed to one of the massive hoses used to pump clouds out of Hover Bay.
“What’s wrong with it?” asked Jack as he looked it over and saw no visible damage.
“It’s collapsed…and we can’t figure out where. All I know is that it just doesn’t work,” replied the engineer.
Jack paused for a moment and pulled the blueprint out. After a few minutes of tracing the path of the hose, he decided that it wasn’t working properly somewhere outside in the storms. “Follow me,” he said to a couple of the members of the crew.
“Where’s the problem, boss?” asked one of the men as they followed Jack out of the room and onto a catwalk.
“You see that hose?” asked Jack as he pointed to it.
“Yeah. Hard to miss it,” said the two men as they laughed loudly.
“Take one of the engineers with you and find the section that is cut in two. An extra hose is at the supply station,” explained Jack as he walked back to the room before the men could say anything. The two men looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders and began looking for an engineer.
“Oi! You! Mr. Spears said to come with us,” shouted one of the men in the direction of an engineer who was taking a break. “He said that the hose is in two somewhere
in that direction.”
“Alright. Let me gather my tools and I’ll be right there,” replied the engineer with a sigh.
The three men walked further to follow the hose while carrying everything they thought they would need. “So, what’s your name? I know it’s not Engineer,” joked one of the crewmen to break the silence.
“Most people just call me Patch,” the engineer explained as he stopped dead in his tracks.
“What’s wrong? Did you hear something out there in the storm?” asked the other crewman.
“Shhhh…” whispered Patch. “Yes. It sounded like there is something out there,” he continued as he looked into the clouds that surrounded them. A few eventless minutes passed and the men began to move forward again.
“Must have been the storm itself that you heard. By the way, my name is Coins and that is Chains,” said the crewman as they walked along the catwalk.
“Look! There it is,” said Chains as he pointed at a large section that was missing from the hose.
“Come on. You two hand me things as I need them,” said Patch as he climbed up onto the hose.
A few hours passed by as the three men worked on the repair when Patch yelled. Chains was the furthest away and couldn’t make out what Patch had said. Coins looked up and saw that Patch was pointing frantically into the storm. Coins turned to see a massive fin sticking out of the clouds below them. He motioned to Chains to stay silent until it passed. As soon as the danger had passed, Coins looked back to Patch and yelled, “How much longer?” as he watched for any signs of the thunder whale.
“I just need to finish this weld,” replied Patch as he flipped his visor back down and struck the arch lighting his torch. Moments later he was finished with his weld and jumped down from the hose so hard that his boots vibrated as he landed.
A deep and drawn out rumble emitted from below them in the storm causing them to breathe faster.
“Let’s get out of here. The hose is fixed,” whispered Chains ready to run.
The other two nodded in agreement and began to sprint leaving the tools lying on the catwalk behind them. Their trip back to the pump’s engine room was much faster than the walk to the broken hose.
Jack and all of the crewmen were gathered together as Coins, Chains and Patch returned.
“Over here, you three! As I was saying, we’ve done well today, but it will take all night for the pumps to remove all of the clouds. With that said, you have earned some shut eye. Captain said tomorrow is a big day. Some of his guests will be arriving and we will begin work on fortifications,” Jack shouted so that the entire crowd could hear the announcement.
Everyone quickly left for the ship as it was getting late. Jack also left to go to the new headquarters building. He knocked on the door and heard, “Come in,” from Joshua on the other side of the door.
Jack opened the door and peeked his head in. “Sir, we are at full operation. All fans are working properly, however, the pumps will have to run overnight to clear out the clouds,” Jack reported with pride in his voice.
“Go on and get some rest. You and the crew have earned it,” Joshua said feeling pleased.
***
“Where do we start, James? I have never been to a Cloudkin town or what ever it’s called…” questioned Sky Marshal Plateman as he drank coffee and munched on his breakfast at the Chow Hall.
“Nest. Cloudkin call their towns nests and village nests. Making sure that we have proper gift would be the best starting point,” explained James as he finished his breakfast.
“What’s that you’re reading there?” asked Sky Marshal Plateman as he looked at a book James had picked up.
“A book on the history of Cloudkin. I bought every book on them that I could find last night. If we wish to avoid confrontation with them, I would think it a good idea to find out what has been points of contention between the Cloudkin and Vaspians in the past,” replied James as he flipped a page in the book.
Misty joined them with a tray of food. “Did you get any rest last night?” she asked as she sat down beside James.
“Some. I thought that doing some research would be a better way to spend my time. At least now we’re not going into the Forest of Misty blindly,” said James as he shook the book at Misty. The three sat wordlessly at the table for a few minutes before deciding to go their separate ways and meet back at the Sky Marshal’s office later.
James stopped by Mr. Rewk’s room before going to the Sky Marshal’s office. He knocked on the door and called, “Mr. Rewk? Are you awake yet?”
“Ahem. Yes, sir. Sorry, sir. I must have needed sleep more than I realized,” answered Mr. Rewk as he opened the door while still wearing his night clothes.
“I’m sorry to wake you so suddenly, but I’ve brought the newest map of the Forest of Mist,” said James as he laid it on a table next to the window of the small room.
Crew Chief Rewk walked over to the table and picked up the map. “This is nearly twenty years old!” said Mr. Rewk as he pointed to the date on the map.
“I said it was the newest…not made yesterday. It should allow you to navigate the Forest of Mist,” explained James with a smile.
“Alright, alright. I’ll look it over and keep it close by when we get to that bloody forest,” grumbled Crew Chief Rewk as he laid the map back down on the table.
“Put some clothes on and come join us in Plateman’s office,” said James as he gestured goodbye and closed the door behind him.
The Crew Chief hurried to get dressed. On his way out of the room, he grabbed the map and closed the door of his room. When he reached the Sky Marshal’s office, James, Misty, and Lieutenant Commander Shockly were already going over the details of the plan.
“Ah! Mr. Rewk! I heard that you slept well. James was just informing us about you going ahead and preparing the ship,” said Sky Marshal Plateman as he watched the Crew Chief pour himself a cup of coffee.
“I’ll have the ship ready to sail. However, I’ll have to fetch the crew first,” replied Crew Chief Rewk as he downed a cup of coffee to help him feel more awake.
“James, you mentioned a gift earlier. I know they don’t care for our machines and money. What do you suggest?” asked Sky Marshal Plateman as everyone turned to James for an answer.
“Weapons. And ammunition,” said James with a smile.
“Weapons?” Lieutenant Commander Shockly blurted out. “I don’t think that’s the best of ideas.”
“Tell me then…what would you suggest?” asked Sky Marshal Plateman as he rose to his feet.
“Calm down, everyone. Weapons are the only thing that we have that would interest the Cloudkin. Now, Mr. Rewk has said that he can prepare the ship. Misty, go with him and help get the crew back to the ship. Lieutenant Commander Shockly, it’s the only way,” said James as he watched Misty and Mr. Rewk leave the office.
“Forgive me, Mr. Blackwin. This plan is still strange to me. I’ll have a supply of weapons and ammunition brought to your ship,” said Lieutenant Commander Shockly with embarrassment as he stood to leave the office to make arrangements.
Sky Marshal Plateman looked to James. “So…when do we leave?” he asked.
“Before night fall. We don’t want to sail through the woods after dark,” said James as he walked towards the door.
“Wait! Where are you going?” shouted Sky Marshal Plateman as James was about to exit the doorway.
“Frank Stobbs, remember? That’s the whole reason for visiting Sky Port,” said James as he dashed out the door.
Sky Marshal Plateman looked to Rachael and laughed at James’ dedication. “He would have made one of the finest soldiers in the Department.”
“I am truly glad that he is on our side. However, I still believe that you should be the one leading and he should be taking orders,” commented Rachael as she handed the Sky Marshal a stack of paperwork that needed his signature.
“James knows pirates. He has hunted them since he was a boy and the same for his father b
efore him. I assure you, Rachael, he is the best,” said Sky Marshal Plateman as he signed some of the papers she had handed him.
***
James walked the familiar street that led to Frank’s small apartment. He saw people watching him from the windows of buildings. This was the first time James had visited Frank in the daylight. James walked to the door and knocked. He was expecting to hear Frank’s voice but instead a woman came to the door and cracked it open.
“Can I help you?” asked the woman through the cracked door.
“Maybe. Is Frank Stobbs still living here?” asked James feeling slightly confused.
“He is eating breakfast. Who do I tell him you are?” asked the woman nervously.
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