EXPEDITION: An Unmatched Fanfiction

Chapter Four: Invasion!

King Arthur and Sinbad looked up into the sky to see what had attacked the crewmate. When they did, they were astonished to witness something they have never seen before.

Hovering in the sky several meters above the highest mast of the boat was an unusual metal vessel, one whose discoid shape the crew had never seen in any sort of manmade vehicle before. The metal itself appeared weathered, with several scratches and scuffs large enough for the crew to see from way below. However, despite the seemingly rough foundation of this mysterious craft, it contained multitudes of advanced technology, the likes of which King Arthur and Sinbad could hardly fathom. The underside of this aerial vessel contained a circle of small knobs jutting out of the bottom, creating a ring around a bigger circle directly in the middle of the craft's underbelly. This larger circle, unlike the knobs, did not protrude from the ship, but contained seams that hinted at its purpose being that of a door, or some sort of exit for whatever was commandeering this flying object. From the boat, the crew was not able to observe much of the topside of the vessel, but they could see some sort of glass dome at the apex of it that glowed a stark shade of neon green.

The crew stared dumbfounded at the aeronautical ship flying above them. Never in their life had they ever seen such a large, manually constructed object with the ability to fly, much less one of this shape and structure. They gaped at the green glow of this mammoth machine, and Arthur and Sinbad gave each other uneasy stares.

"I have never laid eyes on such an unusual, flying object in my life," Sinbad gawked.

"Neither have I," Arthur agreed, "but I have an impression that it is not here to aid us on our quest."

Right as Arthur finished this sentence, one of the small knobs on the flying vessel opened up to reveal an even smaller tube with a hole at the end of it. From this hole came a concentrated orange beam, shooting out at the speed of a racing horse. The beam hit one of the crewmates, throwing him into the air like he was nothing but a ragdoll. His clothes instantly lit aflame, burning the skin underneath, and he plunged into the water, never to be seen again.

The crewmates began to panic, stirring with no idea what to do. King Arthur and Sinbad took charge.

"We must flee!" Arthur boomed. "Everyone grab something to protect themselves, anything that can be used to cover one's head!"

"Hindbad," Sinbad chimed in, "take some crew and raise the masts! We must catch as much wind as possible to propel us forward. The rest of you, grab the oars and row this boat as hard as possible. Your ever-loving lives depend on it! I'll man the wheel."

Everyone scattered to their positions, eager to escape the airborne threat. The crewmates picked up whatever they could off the floor of the ship—stray pieces of wood, bundles of rope, anything—and held them over their heads to protect themselves from any fiery beams. Some of the crewmates ran to the masts, giving themselves rope burns to raise them as quickly as they could. The others picked up the large oars and thrust them into the water, straining their muscles to push through the sea. Anxious chatter filled the air as everyone coordinated to contribute efficiently, and faith that they would escape their assailant began to bubble up.

Sinbad gripped the wheel and gave it a hard turn, hoping that momentarily changing courses could somehow confuse the flying vessel. It remained unphased, however, and kept shooting its lethal projectiles. Every makeshift head covering these shots hit would light up in a fiery blaze, turning into black ash in only a few seconds. Those crewmates that were unfortunate enough to be briefly left without any sort of protection were mercilessly cast into the ocean, intensely burning the whole way down.

Arthur ran to Hindbad at the masts, whose hands had turned bright red from the hard physical labor he partook in. "Have we any weapons strong enough to kill this beast?"