Chapter 39

Feelings were mixed on the Striker for the rest of the morning. Not everyone knew Professor Adisa personally but they all knew of him, who he was and what he represented; so the sense of loss was quite heavy all around. After leaving the bridge, Blue wandered off to be alone with his thoughts and soon found himself on the large rear deck of the sea tug, watching the dragons as they played and fed. It did not bother Blue that the creatures did not seem to know or care about the death of Linton Adisa because after all, in the end they were just animals.

What he did not know was how wrong he was. Nobody had told Blue hat it was the dragons who had alerted the crew to there being something wrong in the first place. Early in the day before the sun had given its first light, two crew members coming on duty had found Firefly and Azrail sitting outside of the Professors private cabin, scratching lightly at the door. It was these crew members who had discovered the unexpected death when they had investigated the dragon's odd behaviour, and reported it to Captain Debar.

One of those same dragons now sat on the port rail of the Striker; he had just devoured a small fish and was about to fly out to catch another when Blue arrived and sat down on a large coiled rope. Firefly soon abandoned his feeding plans and scampered across the deck to comfort his tall, two legged friend. Climbing on to the rope coil, the dragon placed it two front claws and Blues leg and rested its head in his lap, looking up with sympathetic puppy dragon eyes.

Blue half smiled at his dragon's show of concern, but he put it down not to Firefly's knowledge of the situation, but to his uncanny awareness of Blue's current depression. As they sat, several other dragons wandered over and sat nearby, showing a surprising level of solidarity and empathy that made Blue both surprised, and mildly comforted.

"We need to talk" Calla suddenly appeared at Blues right.

"Yeah I know, but maybe later" Blue smiled "Right now I just want to..."

"Not about the Professor, but about how selfish you are being."

Calla's words were more powerful than a punch in the gut, and left the young man temporarily speechless.

"Uh... wha?" was all he could come up with.

"What do you think you're doing, cancelling our investigation of the Faroe Islands?"

"Oh come on Calla, be fair; the Professor's just..."

"I know he's dead" Calla held back more tears "but I thought he had taught you better."

"Better? What are you talking about" Blue started to get angry.

"I'm talking about caring what happens to other people! I didn't know the Professor as long as you did, but one thing I learnt from him was to consider what other people were going through when deciding what he should or shouldn't do."

"Oh... and you're upset because I didn't consider what you wanted to do when I decided to give the Professor a proper memorial?" Blue snarled.

"Humph" Calla snorted as she took a step back "Sometime I just wanna slap your stupid face. I'm not talking about me you idiot, I'm talking about the people we're about to rescue."

"We're still are going to..."

"DON'T INTERRUPT" Calla yelled "We already know two huge dragons have attacked at least one fishing boat, but are there any others? Has anybody been killed yet? And what about the Faroe Islands? If you're right about that being the home of the dragons, what if there are people on those islands too? Are they in danger? What would happen if they tried to take on a Monstrous Nightmare in a fight? The Professor gave up his freedom to spend his life helping support the Mars Colony, possibly saving humanity from total extinction. So do you really think you should go against who he was, and abandon the people out there who need you? They know nothing about dragons... but you do... so help them... I believe it's what Professor Adisa would want you to do... so tell me I'm wrong... I dare you."

It was no surprise to Calla that Blue did not answer her straight away. As she waited, she could see the look of deep thought on his face. It had not been easy for her to talk to him in such a blunt accusing way, but the fact that he did not jump to his own defence without first giving her words serious consideration, made Calla very sure her strong feelings for him were well and truly justified.

"You're right... of course" Blue admitted "I'll go tell Captain Debar."

'

'

The Strikers main crane set what was left of the fishing boat down on the port side of the rear deck. Its crew all sat down in the galley, relieved to be enjoying the hospitality afforded by the huge towing vessel. Up on deck, Blue and Calla poured over the deep claw marks left by a powerful attacker.

"Look at the space between each claw," Calla noted "whatever made them must have been huge."

"And stealing away a net full of fish may have needed a lot of strength, but just consider what it would have taken to tear out the fish hold built into the foredeck."

As they looked over the vessel, Calla suddenly noticed something very interesting.

"Hey Blue, look at Knucklehead."

Following her gaze, Blue saw the Terrible Terror soaring slowly in a circle above the ship. A few other dragons soon joined him while the rest sat on the highest communications mast, scanning the horizon in different directions.

"Are they... on lookout?" Calla asked.

"It certainly appears they are" Blue replied "I dare say they recognised the signs of larger dragons and are making sure they are not caught out unexpectedly. I've noticed they will sometimes make a small pile of caught fish near the stern when there's a school nearby, but now they are eating what they catch right away. My guess is they don't want to attract any predators to what is essentially their current home."

The pair watched the circling dragons for a few minute to see if there was any change in behaviour that may indicate the presence of danger, but it soon became clear they were all just being vigilant for now. As they watched, a man with a Spanish accent approached and spoke.

"Hello? I was told you wanted to speak to me" he said.

"Yes good... my name is Blue Dias and this is Calla Linwood; are you the man who saw the dragon close up?"

"Si yes... Dias... you are of Spanish decent?"

"My father Luis was Columbian" Blue replied.

"Ah I see; and to answer your question, I was fortunate, or unfortunate enough, to see the beast very close indeed."

Blue and Calla noticed the man looking slightly nervously at the circling dragons, especially when one swooped low.

"I know it may be hard to believe after what you've been through, but these dragons really are quite friendly" Blue tried to reassure him.

"And they are small... that is good" Mateo noted.

"If you would like to come with us, I have something I'd like to show you."

Calla led the way inside and while she took Mateo to the dining area, Blue hurried up to the cabin he shared with two other crewmen. Picking up his bag of books, he rushed back down to where the others awaited him. Mateo watched with interest as the young man removed one of the volumes and started to turn its pages, giving him a quick glimpse of the many dragon drawings within.

"Here, take a look at this one" Blue said as he turned the book towards their guest.

The look of recognition on Mateo's face was obvious and his reaction instant.

"THAT'S IT, THAT'S WHAT I SAW... Good God... where did you get this book?"

"It's over a thousand years old and was written by a Viking named Bork" Blue informed him "The dragon in question is called a Monstrous Nightmare; it was pretty easy to identify after you had given me such a good description."

"And they tell me you are going in search of this creature... are you mad?"

"Yes" Calla smiled.

"No!" Blue retaliated "Thanks to the information in these books, we were able to make friends with the smaller dragons, and although we will have to use different methods, we hope to make the oceans safer for you and any others who may go fishing in the future."

"I agree with the girl, you are mad."

'

'

In less than half an hour, Blue and Calla had packed up the last of their gear and placed it on the yacht Star Runner. Blue had been expecting his sister to soon join them, but when she did they were in for yet another surprise.

"Hey Abby, where's your gear?" Blue asked.

"In my cabin." she replied "Sorry to hit you with this at the last minute, but I've given up my space to someone with more sailing experience... and a very strong interest in dragons too."

Abigail looked back at the door leading into the mid-deck superstructure to where Haley Robinson stood, satchel on her back, Ginger Nut on her shoulder, and a look of hope on her face.

"Do you mind?" Haley asked.

"What do you think?" Blue asked Calla "I don't have a problem with this."

"Me neither; welcome aboard" Calla agreed.

"Won't you miss me?" Blue checked with his sister.

"I've got Rollo and a heap of other dragons; what do I need you for? I will miss Calla though" Abigail smiled and winked.

"With me gone you'll have more room in your cabin though" Calla noted.

"You're right" Abigail realised "so go already."

They may have been happily joking with each other, but both girls could not help tearing up as they hugged goodbye.

"Take good care of Blue, he needs it" Abigail whispered.

"And you take good care of yourself too" Calla replied.

Haley climbed the rope ladder up to the Star Runners deck while Blue and Abigail also shared a farewell hug. Then with all three up onboard, the Strikers starboard crane lifted the vessel off its cradle and slowly swung it out over the water.

"FIREFLY, DAISY, AZRAIL; COME ON, IT'S TIME TO GO!" Blue called out to the dragons.

Captain Debar and most of the bridge crew waved from the starboard flybridge, while all their other friends saw the trio off from the stern. With the Star Runners hull now back in the water, Blue and Haley rushed to undo the cable shackles while Calla held the yacht steady. Soon the lifting cables were guided up and the Star Runner was once more sailing free. Turing the helm slightly, Calla put some distance between the vessels before turning hard to port and passing behind the sea tug on their way north. With everything in order, Blue left Haley standing on the bow and went back to the helm.

"I bet this brings back memories" he said as he placed his hand on Calla's shoulder.

"Not yet fifteen and I've taken command" Calla smiled "I wonder what Dad would say?"

"And both members of the crew are older than you too."

"Not by much" Calla protested.

"Okay I'm only a few years older, but Haley is almost twenty..."

"Like I said, not by much" Calla insisted.

"Yeah... not by much" Blue nodded.

'

'

Had my first day back at work today, it was good to really get out of the house for the first time in over a week. Of course if I dare sneeze while I'm driving the bus, they'll probably lock me up again (wink).

Sorry to hear about being forced to wear a mask Vin, we can here but we don't have to. If I had to wear one, I'd be tempted to draw a big smile on it, or even better... Vampire Fangs ;D