Princess of the Sky

ULION

A/N: Some of the timelines might be mixed up. It was previously night in the last chapter, but now it is the same day from Janice's chapter. The story is told non-linearly up until certain characters meet. In rewrites, a lot of these chapters will be re-ordered and consolidated to appear more linear. For now, it's a must the story gets out there.

The wind rushed against Ulion's face as the Ardent made its course away from the pirate war frigate. With a clear 360 degree view, he could clearly spot the two Civetian Man-o-Wars on the horizon. Tall, massive warships, they bristled with dozens of cannons on either side; and visible on the top, mortar cannons whose volleys could down even the sturdiest of craft from a safe distance. The crews, in a high state of alert, scrambled along the top decks of both ships. This'll be something, Ulion thought. I'm surprised that frigate hasn't turned tail yet. Maybe it's trying to call the Civetians' bluff? Whatever the case, something was definitely about to go down.

Surveying his surroundings, he noticed that the majority of the Ardent's top deck crew was a good deal away from him. Two spotters kept watch at the back of the ship, keeping the Man-o-Wars in check as the Ardent made its getaway. As for the frigate, Ulion also noticed a spotter right beside him keeping a close eye on it. He seemed unknowing to Ulion's presence, the general hum of the Ardent's engine and the wind masking the creak the hatch had made when Ulion first arrived.

The distance between the Ardent and the other ships grew as time passed. Tatiana had called him a little while ago, but Ulion knew he still had a bit of time before she'd grow suspicious. With all the commotion running through the ship at the moment, a bit of delay would be expected. Truly, it was worth the effort, to see these ships sailing through the open skies. He wished Janice was there with him, but her constant reminding of his duties pried at his nerves. She wouldn't let me get away with this guilt free, he thought. Still won't, probably.

Seconds turned to minutes, and Ulion grew impatient. Nothing? he thought, disappointed. So much for the main event...

But then something hit the Ardent smack dab in the engine.

The ship careened to the left, and almost losing his grip on the ladder he was perched on, Ulion tightened both his hands around the handles. The ship, totally off balance, caused the spotters to lose their footing as they stumbled onto the top deck's floor. The force of the sudden movement was enough to throw one of them over the railing—the one next to Ulion. Scrambling up the rest of the way in a lopsided fashion, Ulion readied his safety harness, attaching its latch to the ladder. It had a short range—about one half of the top deck—as to prevent someone from dangling too far down the ship's hull. He hoped it would be enough to get to the ship's edge to see to his fellow crew member.

He staggered along, going left, right, then left again, the Ardent shaking. Looking toward the ship's stern, smoke rose from it. Something real had hit them, but from what? No shots had come from either of the Man-o-Wars or the war frigate; the frigate would simply not have the range, and the Man-o-Wars were in clear view. Thankfully, however, the ship was regaining its composure, the auxiliary engine system coming online (no doubt via the crew's swift efforts). The Ardent moaned, and another round of explosions went off in the back, fire erupting. The two spotters turned tail, and at that point, Ulion was in plain sight. Guess Tatiana will know after all, unless I can convince these two not to say a word.

Shaking his head, he went to his fellow crew-member's aid. Leaning over the hull, he saw the spotter was unconscious, but dangling safely. His safety latch and line was intact, and Ulion, with all his strength, began pulling him up.

"Lend me a hand?" he called, and the other two spotters came to him, their lines stretching to their limit behind them. Together, they pulled the crew member back onto the deck... except his head was bleeding profusely. A bad concussion, no doubt. Thankfully, he was still breathing, and was unconscious after all.