Chapter Six- The Battle Of Pyrynn

"Admiral Belleza, that ship is rescuing them," Reported Sergeant Abrams. The Valuan soldiers had escorted the covert ops officer to a safe and distant part of the sands, but his armor had been equipped with skyglass technology similar to that of Vyse's eyepatch, and thus saw the whole thing.

Belleza crossed her arms. "Signal the Lynx to send a boat to pick us up, and have the crew stand ready for battle. We will ensure that they do not escape." It's days like today I wish our radio technology had been advanced enough to, say, put it in my sleeve or something. Alas.

"By your command," The soldier replied, instinctively snapping a crisp salute even though she wasn't looking at him. Clicking on his radio, he said, "This is Pyrynn to Mother Lynx. Do you copy?"

The Valuan Flagship HMS Lynx was under the direct command of the Admiral. It's steel-plated hull was longer than it was thick. It was semi-traditionally designed, as the large square command decks of the back were taller than the flat and long front sections, which curved out to a rounded prow. A set of powerful, industrial engines powered by Valuan electrical technology thundered along in Main Engineering, which was buried deep within the craft to allow for maximum shielding of their reactor.

The tradition ended there- it was painted a proud pink color, which was very unorthodox for any Valuan ship of any kind. Secondary cannons stuck out armored portholes on either side of the ship- autocannons that fired streams of superheated pellets that didn't do much damage with each shot, but cumulatively could spell trouble. The ball-turret guns mounted on the top were the ship's primary method of dealing damage to enemies, and rumors circulated that some kind of special modifications allowed mages stationed in the batteries to fire balls coated with magic. With no doubt, it was heavily armed- that was a prerequisite.

It was also designed for speed, and dueling with larger ships it's agility made all the difference. It was nearly 600 meters long, which made it over twice as big as the Little Jack and slightly smaller than the average Armada Gunboat. Seventy hand-picked sailors crewed the ship, whom Belleza had selected for their loyalty and skill. To conceal the ship from being sighted as she brought the Air Pirates to the Temple, a gigantic tan series of sheets were drawn out over the ship and secured with ropes, and mounts of sand had been heaped on top of it to make it look like just a big sand dune in the distance.

"This is Mother Lynx to Pyrynn. We feel the tremors from here. Is it done?"

"Affirmative. We have raised the Gigas, and are preparing to return to the ship. Break concealment and go to full power. Be advised, enemy ship is in the air."

"Copy, Pyrynn. We'll get airborne ASAP. Dispatching transport to pick up you and the Admiral."

The other three squads of commandos, along with various Valuan crewmen, began to detach the large cables securing their cover, and with the help of mechanized wenches started to draw back the covers. The engine vents blasted, pushing tons of sand away, and the Lynx slowly began to dig itself out from it's cover.

The Pirates did not notice this, as they were busy climbing up onto the familiar wooden deck of the fishing sloop. Despite their fatigue, they rushed into the Bridge, where Drachma was waiting. "Your timing couldn't be better," Aika said. "Thanks for the save, Cap'n!"

She doesn't even care I left 'em earlier for the buzzards... "Hrmph. I wasn't savin' you all. My quest brought me back to Nasr, and I wasn't just gonna watch you all get fried by that... thing."

Aika giggled, and nudged her friend. "Hey, Fina. Get a load of this. Wonder how long the Cap'n will try to hide the fact that he cares about us? Aww."

Fina smirked. "Oh, Aika, you shouldn't tease him like that. It's not very nice."

"Who's hidin' nothin'?" Drachma angrily demanded, then mumbled malcontentedly under his breath, "Lousy little kids, always gettin' me inter trouble..."

"Woah there, just relax, Captain," Vyse advised coolly. "Let's focus on the bigger problem. Mainly that huge machine thing out there that's about to blast us into tiny, tiny pieces."

"Agreed," The old man said, looking out the viewport as the massive plumes of dust finally began to settle. "Boy, let's treat this like a practice run for when we get a shot at Rhaknam. The sizes are roughly the same. Take the helm, but be careful, boy. Speed is the only armor we got. Do not get hit by that thing or we're done." Vyse nodded, and ran up to the controls, his memory kicking in easily. "Fina, I need you on the engine. Keep it from overheating- combat in the desert is not something it was designed fer, even in it's day."

"Um..." Fina looked down. "Captain, sir... I'm sorry, but I have no magical energy left. Both myself and Aika used it all up during our journey through the Temple.""

"Hm..." Drachma pondered for a moment. The boy's alright with his blades, but I doubt he's skilled with magics. Looks like I'm the only one up ter it. "Alright, I know a few blue magics, and we have stones on standby. I'll keep it frosty. Aika and Fina, take the guns. I already got an ammo caisson out there from when I sav- when I got here."

"Right," The girls said as one, and went out onto the deck. Aika sighed. "I'm already exhausted... hey, I just had an idea." She reached into her pouch. "Fina, here's a part of the loot we got through the Temple. I think it's called a Magic Droplet. According to Cap'n Dyne, these things will keep us going for a while." She tossed one of the teardrop-shaped cerulean crystals over, and her friend caught it.

The droplets began to glow, and cracked open, exposing a spark that absorbed itself into their chests. Invigoration flowed through their veins, and Aika gasped. "Yeah! Let's rock." They slid over to the guns. "What kind of ammo should we use, Vyse?"

Drachma was already in the Engine Room, so the teenager couldn't ask him. "I guess we should use regular solid-shot," He replied after a moment. "Let's give him a few volleys, and see what works."

"Recumen is charging it's attack," Fina said, pointing as a red glow strengthened in the distant profile of the enemy.

Vyse slapped the wheel, turning the ship at a severe angle until they were facing the Gigas. "Prepare for evasive advance!" They had to get closer to use their cannons more effectively, but flying straight at the enemy would get them roasted. He began to hit the wheel again, making sure to keep it in a 30-degree radius of the enemy's position so their vector wouldn't drift. He also throttled up, and the engines roared in reply.

With another flash, the beam sliced into the Little Jack's sails, cleanly ripping off the top of the cloth sheets and the crow's nest. The edges of the sails became super-heated and caught flame. Vyse was just relieved that it hadn't hit anything vital yet.

They began to trail billowing smoke, and Aika looked up in alarm. "Vyse! What if it spreads? The high winds are just gonna feed it more fuel."

"We can't do anything about it," He replied. "Neither of us three has blue magic, and the Captain's tied up at the moment." With that he applied even more power to the engines, listening as the frame groaned in stress. They were now moving at an impressive speed, and turning was becoming difficult as the deck shivered. They were still fairly close to the ground, and their engine wake kicked up a dust-cloud behind them that joined with the smoke to frame the silhouette of the small frigate. "Ready port broadside!" He commanded. Aika and Fina ran four lengths of rope to the cannons, tying them together at the end and pulling out a small raw red moonstone.

Recumen grew in the distance, it's form now mounted on large metallic legs that put him slightly in mind of a crab. It danced around, towards them at it's plodding pace as it began to gather energy again. He stopped going evasive, angling them to pass the enemy. A second before they did pass one of it's heads, he yelled, "Fire!"

"Firing," Aika confirmed, sparking off the fuses of the cannons. They took a second to run down, and all four of the smooth black tubes belched flame. Four solid cannonballs descended upon their enemy with good aim as the ship flashed past.

Vyse began to turn Little Jack, and squinted into his eyeglass. The shot had simply bounced off whatever ancient material it's armor coating was made of. Though all four had hit, the balls simply rolled off into the sand below without making so much as a dent. That's no good at all. Even if we could simply batter into it, that would require precision targeting, something we can't even do in the best conditions. "Load high-explosive ammo," He commanded, and the two female gunners did as they were told.

"It's charging again," Aika observed, although this time they were much closer and slower. Suddenly they began to orbit him. "What are you doing? It'll predict our flight and hit us."

"Not if we knock it off-balance like Drachma did," Vyse replied. "Make ready to fire, and engage when the red light crests." Vyse concentrated on keeping the ship steady. It can hit me even when I'm pulling all the stops out, so if we can't throw off it's targeting, maybe we can physically throw the beam out of alignment.

Fina squinted, watching closely. Suddenly she turned and smashed the red stone into their new rope coils. The spark seemed to take forever to conduct itself up to the waiting explosive charges, although some of that was probably a fully charged Gigas about to hit them with it's ultimate power.

It was a perfect chain. The bombs loaded by Aika and Fina rushed forward, tumbling into the head of the nearby Gigas that was about to discharge it's ray-beam. Upon contact with it's armor, they exploded, producing four blasts that did no damage, but rocked the head slightly back. Unable to stop the reaction, Recumen fired anyway. Red light rushed to one side, missing the green ship by a matter of meters and leaving wisps of ionization in the air behind them.

"Dead miss," Vyse whooped. "Damage report?"

"It didn't do a thing," Aika said after a moment, sighing and leaning back against the railing as the fishing sloop continued it's rapid circular maneuvers around the lumbering behemoth. "Damn, those were special explosives. That was the most powerful ordinance we had."

Drachma had installed a series of talking-tubes, and was listening in. He leaned over to the tube after casting yet another back of ice-spells. "Boy, doesn't sound like we're doing much but trailing a lot of smoke and wastin' ammo. Time to change tactics. Looks like he's recharging, so now's the time. Give 'im the Harpoon Cannon and see how he likes that."

"Aye aye, Captain," Vyse replied. "Answering all stop, preparing to fire the Harpoon." He armed the weapon from the control panel and pulled the throttle back to nothing. The engine's aged rattle began to die down as it's power usage decreased. Soon the ship had slid to a halt, and was turned to stare down at the Gigas. This is it. If this doesn't get him, then we're screwed. "Harpoon Cannon, Fire!" He pulled down the lever and felt the ship rattle.

It wasn't very far to their target, and it seemed the mighty steel point instantly leapt from it's sheath into the center of one of it's heads. For a second Vyse stared hopefully at the long, thick black line connecting the weapon to it's ship. It hit them- the counter-force, transfered along the wire, of the harpoon.

The armor of Recumen wasn't even touched by the greatest weapon in the arsenal of the air pirates. The Harpoon was stopped on impact- all of it's force instantly halted, causing a whiplash effect that nearly capsized the ship. The timbers shook, and several steel beams cracked under the pressure. When the ship finally stopped shaking, all four crew members were on the deck, rattled.

"I believe," Vyse declared, sitting up against the helm control and gasping, "That was not the intended effect."

Drachma huffed in annoyance. Not only did we not beat it, but we only managed to further damage the ship. This isn't working. "Boy," He shouted from the ground. "Brute Force ain't workin'. Withdraw at once, and we'll regroup for another tactic."

"You alright, Fina?" Aika asked, shaking her head to clear it as the Little Jack began to turn again.

"I am... unhurt," She replied, and attempted to sit up. Unfortunately the effects of the Magic Droplet were beginning to wear off, and the new stress was simply too much for her overworked system. She collapsed onto the wood of the deck, unconscious.

"Fina," Aika said, crawling over to her and shaking her shoulder. "Wake up! Damn, she's out of it cold. Vyse, Fina just passed out." She pulled out another droplet as she herself began to feel weary, and recharged. These things don't last long, and I'd better watch it. I can't last forever, awake or no.

"Oh yeah?" The boy replied, throttling up again. "I'm about to follow." He looked up. The fire had continued to burn, and the fishing boat's flag, a standard whaling banner, was now free-floating ash. Smoke filled the entire area, as the rings the ship was tracing around Recumen became the perfect screen. With all this crap in the air, it won't be able to target us until we're away. "Little Jack, retreat." Turning the wheel, the ship responded and began to climb up and away from the Temple of Pyrynn and from the Red Gigas.

Drachma emerged onto the Bridge. "Boy, there's some purple moonstones in reserve. Get down there and shovel another batch in. That should last us until we're clear of the danger. I'll put out the flames." He sighed, staring up at the growing hunger of the blaze. Vyse nodded, jogging past him and abandoning the controls of the ship.

Aika watched Drachma begin to cast Blue spells in an attempt to control the burning wreckage of the bottom sails. She sighed. How are we supposed to beat that thing? We don't even know anything about it besides it has poor balance. The only person here who could tell us anything... is cold out of it. She looked over to Fina. It's the only way. "Fina! Wake up!" She began to shake the prostrate girl again, yelling furiously.

"Fina! How do we beat this machine? How do we kill it? You have to know something! You have to tell us! We can't let the Valuans win!" Apparently it was having an effect, as Fina started to stir and groan. "Fina!"

"Aika," She groggily replied, eyelids fluttering. "So... tired..."

"Tell me how to defeat Recumen!"

"Can't... Gigas' armor... impossible."

"You and I both know that impossible doesn't mean anything," Aika observed, her voice unnaturally soft.

Fina paused for a moment, her mind in a hazy state of semi-reality and trying to find an answer. She replied finally. "User... Gigas have no will... it's the user..." With that she faded out, and this time it was obvious she would be furnishing no further answers.

"Aika," Vyse called, back on the Bridge. "Strategy meeting, get in here." Drachma had managed to stifle most of the burning flames, but had lost the sails, rigging, flag, and most of the masts in the process, which reduced their speed and unbalanced their weight. The immediate dangers had been terminated, and Little Jack was cruising higher and higher. In the far distant sky the clouds of Highest Sky could be seen, but they wouldn't reach that all-encompassing limit for a while.

The old man looked over to Fina through the viewscreen. "She gonna be all right?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine. She's just really tired," Aika replied. "I managed to get her to tell us something useful. Vyse, attacking the Gigas directly is a waste of time."

Vyse nodded. "Yeah. That's what we just demonstrated."

"Which is why we need to go after the Gigas' controller," She finished as if he had never spoken up. "We need to find and take out Belleza's ship, and force her to call off Recumen. Until we do that, it'll go on forever."

"Good idea," Vyse nodded in agreement. "But how are we going to find her? I mean, it's not like she would come after us once she summoned the Gigas..." An explosion rocked the ship, shoving it aside, as several shells detonated to port of the rising frigate. "... nevermind."

"Either way, we'll last longer against her than we will against the Gigas. Man your stations," Drachma commanded. "I'll take the guns, Vyse, steer the ship. Aika, take Fina below decks and then get to shovelin' stones into the engines. I get a feeling we'll be using them for all they're worth. Belleza's a tricky girl." The two teenagers did as commanded, while Drachma went into storage and easily dragged out another caisson full of ammunition. He mounted it on a special brace made for that purpose on the deck and began to fill all eight cannon with powder and shot.

Lynx was climbing up, approaching diagonally from the direction of Pyrynn. The long craft's engines pushed it inexorably forward, and the pivoting turrets of their special Magic Cannons began to shoot Pyri spells at the Little Jack. Luckily for it's crew, the armor-plated sides of the ship were much less flammable than the mast or sails.

"Admiral Belleza, the enemy ship is coming about to port," Vice Captain Morrison reported. "Range is 700 yards and closing."

"Cease firing in five seconds and divert power to the engines. Intercept course, helm," Belleza commanded, reclining into the large command chair of the Lynx's bridge. Dozens of officers worked at powered terminals on the level below them while Morrison stood to her side and bellowed orders at the crew.

They'll try to flee, I just know it. Too bad my guns can pound him into dust, while his are fixed to his sides. Even with his slightly superior speed, he'll be dust by the time he can get out of range. After conquering Pyrynn and the Rokwyrm, she found it ironic that they would fall to a simple battery of cannons.

"Captain, we aren't going to get clear in time," Vyse yelled out onto the deck. "We need to do something! What are your orders?"

"Listen up," The old man yelled over the sound of explosions that bubbled all around them, "Belleza knows we're faster, so she'll be expecting us to make a beeline outa here. What she don't know is that we're gonna turn hard as she goes and hit her with a volley. Get ready to give that wheel all you got, boy." He grabbed onto the railing as a lucky hit took a significant chunk out of the thick bottom armor. These kids are really hard on my ship, all things considered.

"They're angling to intercept us, sir," Vyse said. "We aren't fast enough... their main guns have stopped to reload." Even Valuan cannons had to reload sometime, and even though they had machines to refresh the magazines it would take them precious seconds to prepare. They're out, and we're in. "Brace yourselves! Hard to port! Fire as she comes into angle!"

He tugged the wheel with all his strength, and felt the ship turn. At a suicidal speed it took enormous power to change their heading, and it took a few seconds. Belleza gasped as she saw the sloop come about, in perfect position to return fire.

"Take this," The old man roared, setting off the cannons as the Lynx loomed closer. The four cylinders rocked back, tossing their lethal projectiles. The four spinning solid balls closed for a moment with their target, and then impacted. Three of them slammed into the ship's prow armor, cracking and denting it inwards from the force, while the fourth one's lucky angle sent it tumbling through the bridge viewscreen. The lead and steel object hit the far wall, shaking the deck meters from Belleza and denting it severely before dropping to the ground and rolling off to one side.

Both ships broke away- turning in opposite directions in wide arcs. The Valuan Admiral scowled. "He did the exact opposite of what I thought he would do... and he caught me dead to rights. Next time I won't let him escape. Helm! Circle us around for another pass but keep our side to him. I won't go nose-to-nose with a ship carrying that Harpoon. Autocannon control, prepare for attack."

"Boy," Drachma ordered, "Get that Harpoon ready. If she tries to go rammin', we'll hit her with it. Recumen might be able to shrug it off but the weakened prow armor of a Valuan cruiser'll be like butter."

"Aye aye, Captain," Vyse acknowledged, rearming their strongest weapon. He turned to the talking-tube. "Aika! How you holding up?" There was no reply for several seconds. "Aika! What's going on! Respond!" Nothing but the background clatter off the engine that was nearly as old as the Gigas answered him. "Sir, I think something's wrong with Aika!"

"We did turn pretty hard," The old man said. "I'm gonna go check on her. Give Admiral Belleza my 'regards'." The teenager nodded- their arc was almost complete, and soon they would have the Lynx back in their sights. Drachma trudged down into the inner deck of the Little Jack, and made his way to the Engine Room. Aika laid against the floor, and the bucket of spare moonstones was capsized, it's contents spread across the floor like huge purple snowflakes. "Aika. Aika, are you alright?"

He leaned over, groaning, and shook her none-too-gently with his artificial arm. She gave no reply. Drachma turned up and bellowed into the talking tube, "Boy, she's out clean. I suppose she musta hit her head on the wall."

"Wow," Vyse replied. "Can this ship function in battle with only two people, sir?"

"It's functioned with one for thirty years," He answered, and hefted Aika onto his shoulder easily. He put her in his quarters, depositing her on his old bed before making haste back up above the decks. "What's the situation?"

"The enemy doesn't want to play chicken," The pilot of the ship replied, glaring into his skyglass. "They've turned and are orbiting us. We're approaching them rapidly. Give it 500 and closing."

"Fire when ready," Drachma acknowledged, nodding his head.

"Fire when ready," Belleza commanded, and felt her ship shiver as the dozen autocannons began to fire. Streams of small pellets descended by the millions, pelting the prow of their enemy mercilessly. their front armor began to crack, and dozens of the pellets hit their bridge, forcing it's occupants to duck or be beheaded. A mast split open with the force of a volley, and wood splinters filled the air in moments as various wooden bits were destroyed.

When Vyse and Drachma looked back up, the firing had stopped, and they had completely passed the Lynx. "Damn her," The fisherman growled angrily. "She countered our perfect shot. Now she's behind us again."

A sickening ripple passed up the body of the ship, and a moment later the rear armor exploded in flames. More shells began to overshoot them, leaving no doubt as to the cause of the newest damage. "Sir, if they keep firing at us we'll loose the engine. And it'll overheat anyway, which means we'll need to... stop..." He trailed off. "Sir, let's stop."

"You finally taken one too many knocks, boy?" Drachma said dismissively. "She'll stop too and pound us and we'll all die."

"No, sir, she's gonna punch her throttle. She thinks we'll try to take advantage of our speed to escape, but if we let her overshoot us, our Harpoon can gut her back to front."

"Hm... it's a gamble, but we're out of options and out of time. All stop, boy." They lurched forward from their momentum as the engine was reduced to almost nothing- only enough to keep them barely afloat in the skies. In moments they would know weather their gambit worked.

This is it, Vyse thought. Come on, come on... The top of the viewscreen flashed pink as the Lynx thundered past, engines still intensely blazing. Yes! The Harpoon had already been armed, and so all he had to do was pull the lever. He pulled the lever. The ship was pushed backwards from the raw force behind the attack, and the enemy never saw it coming.

Valuan armor plating on the rear was notoriously thin, and Belleza's pride was no exception. Piercing through it as easily as the rocks of the Great Barrier Reefs, the harpoon carved through the ship, ripping entire decks apart and tearing into the heart of the cruiser. It emerged out the side, scattering the broken and shattered pieces of the forward armor.

Drachma was suddenly struck by an idea, and grabbed the moonstone he had been using for a while to fire the cannons. It had plenty of magical energy left. He dashed onto the deck, and climbed up to the huge black metal-fiber cable that attached the Harpoon to it's launcher. By striking the stone repeatedly against the meter-thick elastic line, he induced a spark, which quickly traveled it's way up to the Lynx. "This should work!"

Work indeed- the spark passed through the ruined Main Engineering of the wounded ship, and ignited rows of fuel tanks. The effects of this were quick and devastating- fire rampaged throughout the ship, in torrential waves of heat that melted through metal, glass and skin with perfect ease. Anyone below the decks was instantly killed, and the ammunition stores chain-reacted in yet another series of explosions that ripped open the top hull.

Vyse stared up as the last of the explosions fizzled out, leaving a burning and charred husk of a ship that billowed forth numerous waves of dark smoke. The enemy was utterly defeated- he wondered for a moment if the ship wouldn't drop out of the sky, then the Lynx began to descend, shaking.

"Boy, reel it back in," Drachma encouraged, and Vyse obeyed, pressing the recall button. Powerful motors in the insides of the Little Jack began to roll, and the Harpoon wrenched itself from it's temporary rest on the prow of the Valuan ship, withdrawing with it's cable and leaving a gaping tunnel from front-to-back that was filled with smoke and flame. He grunted triumphantly. "They're beaten. Look, they're raising white banners." Surviving crew were indeed raising long white sheets, which were the universally recognized symbol of surrender.

"Sir, engine temperature is reaching critical," Vyse reported upon seeing one of the many old and worn gages of the Helm controls pass into the red metric. "They're raising signal flags. 'W-E-A-R-E-C-A-L-L-I-N-G-O-F-F-T-H-E-G-I-G-A-S'."

In the distance, the machine began to descend back into the sands, plunging willingly into it's grave of the ages. Both men still conscious let out their breaths, but Drachma remained resolute. "Get us to the ground, boy, and then help me treat the girls."

"Aye, Captain," He said with a grin, flashing a confident thumbs-up to the career whaler. Little Jack descended near the Lynx, setting down with a marked amount of grace despite the deteriorating engine. "Sir, the drives are finally quitting. We're stuck here."

"Don't worry about that," Drachma said. "We've got a new engine comin' soon. We got enough fuel to reach Sailor's Island?"

"Yeah, but we'll be running on fumes when we get there," Vyse nodded. He followed Drachma below the decks, and into his quarters, where he saw Aika. Fina was laying in a makeshift hammock on the wall. Both of them were sleeping, and looking remarkably peaceful. "How are they?"

"Look fine to me," Rumbled the old man, taking out a Sacri crystal. "Aika took a serious bruise, though. This crystal might not be enough, but it should prevent any concussions." He held it over her forehead, and green light sprang forward, dancing across her form. Healing energies mended the blunt impact trauma from the severe turn.

Vyse sighed and looked down. "I don't believe this... both of the girls are like this because... because I wasn't good enough. Fina got too worked over because I had her use all her skills in the fights, and Aika... it's almost like I slammed her against that wall. I was driving." He sighed and leaned against the door frame. I am pretty burned out myself. We've had a horrible day.

"Hey," Drachma said. "Self-pity never helped anyone. We're gonna meet with Belleza- I believe she has some spare parts for us. I don't think their secondary engines were busted up, and they'll work fine for a ship this size..." Vyse finally caught onto his drift, and smirked. "Salvage missions are always sweeter, boy, if you kick the ass of the person whose salvage you want."

0-0

Admiral Belleza had promptly come un-escorted halfway between their ships, and was waiting out in the sun for the crew of the Little Jack. She had just suffered a crippling tactical defeat, and would need to explain to Lord Galcian how miserably she had been beaten by a ragged band of Blue Rogues and a cranky old man.

They took their time, however. They were in no rush, and Vyse wanted the girls to be awake for when they accepted her surrender. Belleza isn't going anywhere fast, Vyse thought with a smile, leaning over the bed as Aika was the first to awaken. She opened her eyes slowly. "Ugh... what happened to me?" She groaned.

"Um... put it this way," Vyse said, looking at the wall. "You were hurt because someone very close to you is an idiot."

Aika blinked, and then memory came flooding back to her in waves like the ocean. "Wait... I was down shoveling stones like the Cap'n told me to, because we were fighting... wait! Recumen!" She sat up suddenly but Vyse put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Did we win?"

"Obviously," He replied. "Otherwise we wouldn't be here. We kicked Belleza's ass, but Captain said to wait for you and Fina to wake up so we could all deal with her."

Aika looked over to Fina, and said, "Is she alright?"

Vyse nodded. "Heavy fatigue. She was running on fumes after we defeated Rokwyrm. I think that her Silvite magic takes more out of her than we figured. Anyway, we gave her some Sacri just to be sure, and she should be up in a while. We'll get some real sleep on our way out of here."

"I would like... real sleep," Fina replied in a faint voice, eyes still closed. "Do we have the... crystal?"

"No, but Belleza's going to hand it over to us," Vyse nodded. "We have won the day, despite overwhelming odds, thanks all to my brave heroism."

The Silvite giggled quietly. Vyse always knew how to cheer her up. "Vyse... the Green Crystal is next."

"Green Crystal?" Aika asked, turning over to look at her.

Fina nodded. "Yes. Under the light of the Green Moon... a blessed land awaits. Past South Ocean, to the West. There lies Grendel, and the Crystal to control it."

"Wait, there's land under the Green Moon?" Vyse asked. He had heard the rumors of the lost continent of Ixa'Taka, but had discounted it as just that- rumor and myth, a legend taught to young children about huge forests that stretched out in all directions to the horizon, of a lush land blessed and of plenty. "Woah. We'll need to cross South Ocean, which no one has ever done before... awesome." Real sailors aren't afraid of the unknown.

"Awesome isn't the word I would use, Vyse," Aika said, standing up slowly. "I'm good to move. Fina, stay here and rest while we go rub it in Belleza's face, ok?" Too weak to put up an argument if she had intended to, the girl merely nodded and drifted back away.

The three of them emerged down a ramp and onto the sands, and made their way over towards the figure of the Admiral. When they were in hearing range, she called out, "Last time you were very prompt, handsome. What's with the deep freeze?" Not that I would mind a freeze, in this heat.

Vyse frowned. "Yeah, but last time you were Bellena, kindly dancer with a crush on me. Now you're Belleza, cunning Valuan Admiral... with a crush on me."

"Ouch," She said, chuckling and clutching her chest as if shot for a moment. They now stood face-to-face. "You might have won this battle, but you are far from winning the war. There are five Moon Crystals left. The Valuan Armada never makes the same mistake twice, either."

"No, you always find different ways to fail," Aika said. "Hand it over." Belleza did, and she held it up to the sun for a second, watching it's warm glow before pocketing it. I knew I shouldn't have trusted her... she seems like a good person, but her methods are way out of alignment. She's looking at things all wrong.

"We won't make the mistake of underestimating you guys next time, either," Vyse responded. "We'll get those crystals."

She sighed. "I suppose you're headed for Ixa'Taka now, correct? Valuan forces already own that continent. That's assuming you survive the trek, which is almost impossible. A headwind stronger than any in the world ripples through that entire region."

"No need to worry about that," Drachma interjected. "Our engine's overheated, so we'll be taking yours." He began to trudge forward, to the Lynx. Vyse watched him go. Moons help the engineer that tries to get in his way.

"What?" Belleza asked. "Then how am I going to get back?"

"We decided you should walk home. You trick us and raise a weapon of mass destruction to kill us, we take your engine. We'll call it even." Aika smirked like the Cheshire Cat.

"You want me to walk?" Despite the events of the day, she couldn't help but smile. "Heh... guess I don't have much of a choice about it, though. 'Only those who have walked through the desert can truly know it's size' is an old Nasrian saying. Guess I'll get to prove them right." Drachma appeared, single-handedly carrying the large steel engine core by himself.

"With this, even South Ocean crosswinds'll be a breeze," He rumbled in amusement and began to trudge back to the ship. Vyse thought that was the first time he had ever seen his Captain crack any sort of joke.

Aika giggled, nodding. "Let's go." She followed Drachma back towards the ship. Vyse followed.

"Hey, handsome," Belleza spoke up again. He stopped and looked over his shoulder, listening. "You win this one. But Valua is more powerful than you could possibly imagine. And the trip to Ixa'Taka is a long and perilous journey through uncharted skies. Your chance of survival is null."

"Yeah," Vyse acknowledged, looking up at the sky and crossing his arms. "But I'm over that. The world is huge, and I want to see it all. Nothing's going to stand in my way- not even your Empire." He began walking again, to return his his misfit crew.

Belleza sighed. "Reckless and impulsive, I see. Well, I hope you last long enough for us to meet again. I love a man with stamina."

Vyse was lucky he was facing away from her, because he was blushing at her addendum. He picked up the pace, soon standing on the deck of the ship. Drachma called them down, and the two Blue Rogues helped him install the more modern, powerful engine in place of the burnt out old one. Within an hour the ship had power again. With a burst of power, it pushed off, rising above the sands.

"Boy, charter your course for Maramba. We'll need to refuel, and I think you've earned a stay in a bed that don't rock. For tonight," Drachma ordered.

"Aye aye, Captain," Vyse confirmed, pushing up the throttle. One down, five to go...