The sound of rushing waves filled Deryn's ears. Deryn slowly opened her eyes and found herself staring out into a huge, glittering ocean. She sat up thinking, "What a nice view…." Deryn frowned. What was she barking doing here?
She attempted to stand up, only to fall down because she was still a bit scrambled in the attic. Deryn swore softly. A low moan came from behind her, Deryn whipped around to find Alek lying face down in the sand.
"Gods wounds, Dylan, be careful." Alek muttered in his unconscious state. All of a sudden, Deryn remembered what had happened.
She had been topside on the Leviathan when suddenly, another airbeast had appeared at their port flank, dangerously close. The airbeast looked like a huge shark; probably had a great white shark life thread in the beastie. The beastie glided alongside the Leviathan with ease. It didn't seem hostile, but the crew was still on edge, waiting for orders from the captain. Deryn had decided to go to the port side, just in case they needed her assistance should they have to act fast. When she reached the port flank, a message lizard scuttled up to her.
The message lizard began to talk with Dr. Barlow's commanding tone, "Good morning, Mr. Sharp. I assume that you have noticed our fellow airship by now. They have sent us a message that they have been travelling a long time and their food supply for their creatures is almost empty and they have requested our assistance. I need you to transfer some supplies over as quickly as possible. Please report to the bridge for further instruction."
Deryn was puzzled. Normally, if another airbeast requested assistance they would land, and the boffins would negotiate over what to do. However, that took a lot of time and energy; obviously it was of upmost importance that they not waste that time. Deryn sighed, wishing she knew what the barking spiders was going on, then she climbed down the ratlines and made her way to the bridge.
When Deryn entered the bridge, the first thing she saw was three, large crates bound
together by rope. Dr. Barlow was standing right next to them with Alek by her
side. Bovril and the lady boffin's loris were on top of the crates softly
chattering. If Deryn was confused before, she was even more confused now. Why
was Alek here and what were these crates for? Deryn looked at the lady boffin for an explanation.
"Oh good, Mr. Sharp , you're here. These crates are the supplies you will be
delivering to the Ajkula."
"The Ajkula, ma'am?"
"Ah yes, a Serbian airship, one of their best ones. They have told us that they have travelled a great distance and their supplies are low. We will be providing some supplies, but our course cannot slow down in the slightest, so you are going to deliver it, ." Dr. Barlow quickly explained. "Alek will be accompanying you." Deryn was sure she hadn't heard right. If they could not waste the time to land, she was going to have to perform a cargo drop, which was extremely difficult. She needed an experienced airman to assist her with this one, not some daft prince. Deryn shook her head, "Ma'am, no offense to you Alek, but I would be better off with Newkirk helping me. If you need me to do a cargo drop, I need an airman with me."
"Of course, , I understand, but Alek needs to be there for translation."
"Translation? We don't need to communicate for a cargo drop, ma'am."
"Correct, but this is more than just a simple cargo drop. This is a Serbian airship, if I must remind you , we are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, far away from Serbia, this airship is rather suspicious. It also has not been answering our messages that we have tried to send it. I need you and Alek to infiltrate the ship and figure out why they are here. The cargo drop is merely a front." Deryn stood there, mouth agape. She wanted her to infiltrate another airship? She could do a lot of things, tying knots and reading semaphore flags with expertise, but spying and inflitrating? She had not expected this, much barking less Alek coming with her. But orders were orders, she would do it. She could only hope nothing would go wrong.