Matt Dovey
Vyse sat in the meeting room, staring at the letter. Much of the crew had been tied up in clearing away rubble and rebuilding what had been destroyed, leaving Vyse very much to his own thing. He had spent some hours now looking at the letter, hoping to find some sign that it was not real, that it could not be... It seemed impossible that it was really De Loco, but there was still someone up there. It was clear from the letter, and the attack, that whoever had attacked had done so from a great height. Whether they had indeed gotten as high as the moons, as the message claimed, was debatable, but they were higher than the Delphinus could manage to reach, judging by the trajectory and power of the attack. That left just one option, if the attacker were to be investigated (as Vyse intended) - Fina's Silvite ship. He stared down at the message a moment longer, tapped his fingers twice on the table and stood up. Walking out the door, leaving it to slam behind him, he headed down to the crew quarters to talk to Aika and Fina.
"It's obvious enough that what attacked us did it from way up high," explained Vyse, "and the only ship we've got that can get us up to that kind of height is yours, Fina."
Vyse was standing talking with Aika and Fina, outlining what he wanted to do. The fire in his voice and eyes was all too evident; Vyse didn't want to risk another attack on his crew.
"But that ship hasn't got any weapons, Vyse, we'll be defenceless against whoever's up there! I don't think they'll be too happy to see us, you know."
"We need to get up there Fina, I can't risk another attack on the island! That ship of yours has got speed, if we get into trouble it won't be too hard to get away!"
Fina kept quiet her doubts that she'd already been caught in that ship once.
Vyse had began preparing straight away after outlining his plans to Aika and Fina (they had had little choice in the matter - Vyse was determined). By mid-afternoon, Vyse had informed the senior crew what was happening and delegated responsibilities for while he was away. He was already waiting at the top of Crescent Isle, by Fina's ship, with a look of impatience on his face, when Aika and Fina turned up. After a few last minute checks of equipment and some emergency supplies in case of the worst, they all boarded the Silvite ship and set off.
"Take her to top speed, Fina!" yelled Vyse over the roaring of the wind. He still had that determined look on his face, a kind of joy in his eyes that the hunt was on again; it had been a year or more since the defeat of Ramirez, and there had been no other threats to challenge him in that time. In a way, it felt good to be in danger again, with a challenge and an aim to drive him; it was what shaped him, and made his life worth living.
As Fina pushed the ship to its maximum speed, Aika clung to a side. Although she felt she was being dragged along by events and Vyse yet again, it was what she enjoyed best - the chance to fight, to test herself, and to have that shared ecstacy of victory with Vyse, her old friend. She closed her eyes against the moisture in the air as the Silvite ship raced through yet another bank of clouds. She couldn't help herself as a grin broke out across her face.
Fina gripped the ship controls tightly, squinting her eyes against the unmasked sun they now faced that they had passed through the clouds. As she levelled the ship off, she slowed it down too, so that they could look around. Although she had her doubts about the whole idea, she had to admit that she felt like she hadn't felt for a year... yet she felt better this time. There was the old excitement, the old fire of battle back in her, the joy in her companionship with the others... But this time, there was none of the apprehension there had been when facing Ramirez, none of the doubts, memories or, above all, the bitter sorrow.
The ship slowed to a stop, hovering gently, only a quiet hum indicating that the ship still ran. There was not much wind up here, now; the silence was beautiful, all-encompassing, serene, and the air was fresh and beautiful, if a little thin. The three stood in the ship, casting their eyes about, when a sudden explosion off to starboard threw them to the floor. Vyse was the first back on his feet, looking about with a dangerous glare in his eye. Another explosion went off to port, but further away. Vyse looked about more hurriedly, his head switching from side to side. He lifted his eye patch, trying to get a better field of vision. As he did, he caught a glint of metal, a flicker of sunshine to the aft of the ship; something was falling down... Then it exploded. Vyse looked up, and saw a spark in the sky, like a star... Re-fitting his eye patch, he zoomed in. It took him a moment to find the ship again, but when he did, he stepped back in surprise. As he did, another explosion rocked the boat from behind again, Vyse gritting his teeth as he fell once more. When the ship had stopped shaking, he stretched over to the controls and started the ship moving away again, straining to build the speed up. With another glance upwards, he pushed the nose downwards towards the cloud, as another explosion caught the rear of the ship, sending it tumbling downwards with no power, spiralling through the white clouds erratically.
"Ungh..."
The first sensation he felt was the heat; the dry, burning heat surrounded him and made his skin crawl. As he drifted closer towards consciousness, he began to feel it burn through his eyelids, and he rolled over and shaded his eyes before opening them. Keeping his head low against the sand he could feel, he gradually began to see again, and the ugly blotches that floated about his vision disappeared. Shading his eyes and glancing around, he spotted Aika and Fina stranded nearby, and the Silvite ship, which appeared to be buried in the sand. Grunting, he hauled himself up, vaguely dusting off any loose bits of sand still attached to him. He walked slowly over towards the sleek craft, his legs stiff and aching - he guessed he had been unconscious some time. As he got closer to the craft, he frowned; the front end wasn't visible, which he had assumed to mean it was buried... But as he approached it now he could see the violent cracks, the jagged edges where the front end had been torn off. He raised his head, casting his gaze around frantically, but he couldn't spot it anywhere, not even with the help of his eyepatch. With growing dismay his eyes kept coming back to the land edge some 200 yards from where they were; looking back at Fina's ship, he could see it was facing towards the ocean, and away from a rocky outcrop, surrounded by small flashes of light, metallic glints... Vyse groaned and sank to his knees, his logic bringing back the memories of the ship striking the rock, throwing out the Blue Rogues, spinning through the air, then the blackness... then, like the breaking of the dam that follows the trickle, the other memories came flooding back. The ship that he had seen up there was unmistakable, even though it seemed to shine silver; it had had huge claw dangling at the front, a domed bridge on top like no other ship had, no other ship except the Chameleon, which meant that - impossible as it was - it was De Loco...
Well folks, it's been a helluva long time (a month and a half, lol), but it's a new chapter... it's shorter than it could have been because I'm lazy, and don't like long chapters anyway... I might get round to finishing this soon, if not for the facts that a) I'm lazy, b) It's got to contend with my urge to write a dark fantasy, and c) I've forgotten the plan for it, having worked it out in the end of an exam and thus not having been able to write it down... Also, I have a webcomic to start again. Life is so hard.
Anyway, I hope some of you new authors I've been reviewing for feel a twinge of debt and review this :p my ego is FRAGILE and needs STROKING on a REGULAR basis. Ok, enough Mr. T shouting.
#~~Matt