Skyrun

Chapter 44; Skyrun.

It felt as though the earth had dropped from underneath him; the wind rushed in his ears till they popped. His guts felt as though they were in his throat, and he held on to the ship with the knowledge that if he let go he would die.

Vaguely, he thought he could hear Tophsy or Ezra screaming, mixing with the odd elated shriek coming from Valentine.

Cracking open his eyes, he saw her lips split in a wide grin, laughter bubbling from her lips, her eyes bright with exhilaration as Sinclair held tight to both her and the ship's wheel-- no doubt to keep them both from flying off.

Yet just when it looked as though they would smash into a thousand pieces on the ground below, Valentine flipped the switch once more and Liam found himself thrown flat on the deck as though suddenly pinned there.

From there, it became apparent as to what a Skyrun was; a form of madness available only to pirate captains with airships and a death wish.

Several more times they plummeted, only to rise once more with frightening speed-- whereas other times they would lurch either left or right, zigzagging across the sky in wild patterns, creating evasive maneuvers that seemed almost unplanned. And, in Valentine's case, very likely were.

In any case, it seemed to go on forever; the motions wild an erratic, yet keeping the cannon fire unable to hit them. Yet eventually, the ship's engines began to whine in protest, and Valentine righted the ship once more.

Letting out what seemed to be a collective sigh of relief, Liam rose with the rest of the crew to see that the Sky Guard ship was still close enough to be a problem, yet still out of range of cannon fire.

There was a hesitant amount of clapping that eventually grew to a roaring cheer then as Valentine took a bow for her flying skills, only for the victorious feeling to fade away after a moment as Sinclair barked, "We're not out of our graves just yet! Keep lightening the ship, and I want cannons loaded for the next round of fighting when it comes! Move!"

Immediately, the celebration ended and all returned to work, leaving Liam to shakily rise from the deck along with Tophsy and Ezra, all unharmed if not a bit shaken.

Then, with thoughts of his family pushed aside in the midst of his own survival, Liam hurried to work, deciding that even thought the matter was far from over, it was generally considered idiotic to start a fight when one was in the middle of possibly dying. 

And thus the evening drew on; unneeded cargo plundered from other ships was thrown overboard, sails raised to catch whatever breeze there was, and steam-powered life boats readied should there be need to abandon ship.

Eventually, however, there was nothing else to be done but to wait in a tense silence that made the air crackle as the pirates gazed wearily into the open sky, swords at the ready, cannons loaded and prepared to fire once the Sky Guard caught up to them once more.

And it was in that time of dreadful silence that Liam simply watched the captain and quarter master talk in hushed tones, their gazes flicking every once in awhile to Liam, then to where Tophsy and Ezra stood stoically.

After awhile of this, Liam grew tired of their secret conversation and went to stand beside Valentine and Sinclair once more-- his steps quiet, saying nothing till they took notice of him.

"Now is not the time," Valentine said simply, her eyes locked on the sky ahead, "I've got a battle to fight."

"You've got a battle to fight here as well." Liam replied, ignoring the glare Sinclair gave him. "I won't rest till this matter is settled."

The captain huffed a sigh then, her head bowing ever so slightly in a way it never usually did. "That maneuver I did today, the Skyrun, you know it can only be used once before the engines can't go on, don't you? Either way, Liam, I know the Sky Guard will catch us eventually and I know that whether I like it or not, this might very well be my last night on this bloody planet." she shifted her gaze to him then, her eyes almost sad. "There then. Consider that your revenge."

"I--"

Liam's words were cut off sharply as the enemy ship suddenly loomed into view; for where it had been silently trailing behind before, it now came came closer than ever, its steam-powered cannons whirring as they prepared to launch forth more heavy fire.

Yet before he could think to do anything, Sinclair suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder and marched him below decks, calling forth Tophsy, Ezra, and Spyglass to follow suite.

Confused, Liam followed the four of them to the lowest part of the ship where the brig was, exchanging uncertain glances with Tophsy as Sinclair ushered them into one of the small cells kept there.

"Give me your goggles, your gloves, aviator coats, earrings, everything." he said sharply, "I want nothing that could identify you as a pirate."

"What's going on?" Liam asked.

Yet Sinclair only scowled, gesturing to the four pairs of shackles on the wall. "Never you mind. Now sit down, keep quiet, and try to look miserable."

Immediately, the others did as they were told, with Liam hesitantly doing the same a moment later, gasping slightly as Sinclair snapped the shackles over his arms and legs with a soft click as the metal slid into place.

"Now then," the quarter master said, his voice almost gentle, "When they find you, say you're captives. Blimey, tell them we tortured you. I don't care where you say you're from or what you tell them your names are... just don't give them a reason to hang you."

They won't hang prisoners of pirates,' Liam thought with sudden understanding, 'They're saving us... and only us.'

He gaped at him, the protests of the others bouncing around the small cell and echoing in his ears as the quarter master finished with them and turned to go, glancing over his shoulder at them just before he closed the cell door.

Looking up at Sinclair, Liam felt their eyes lock and in that moment it seemed as if they were both saying goodbye forever. That this would be the last time one saw the other alive.

This was where their adventure together ended.

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