Chapter Six

"You wanted an adventure," Jack pointed out upon observing Jenny's stunned expression. "This world tends to grant careless wishes."
Jenny looked out at the growing storm in fearful awe. She'd never seen a storm before. She had been programmed with knowledge on how to fight in one, but nothing like this. This was a full-blown hurricane, or would be in a matter of hours.
"Come on. If we go in now we should be able to make it to the ship before the water becomes too dangerous."
"But how will we close the rift?" Jenny asked. "We can't go through without a plan."
"Don't worry! I have something that should help. If it doesn't work, then we'll come back and use your portal."
The ocean on the other side of the rift was churning vigorously now, and it became clear to Jenny that if they went through, they wouldn't be able to return the same way. "What, and we'll just turn around and hop back through?" Jenny questioned. "In the middle of a hurricane?"
"It was your idea."
"That was before I knew we were witnessing the worst hurricane in this region's history! We won't be able to come back."
"Shut up and trust me," Jack replied with a grin. "I have a time vortex manipulator."
Before Jenny had time to ask what a time vortex manipulator was, Jack pushed her through the rift and jumped in after her. Fortunately for Jenny, swimming was one of the many instincts she had been instilled with upon progenation. A soldier who couldn't swim was hardly a soldier at all in these circumstances, or so the Messaline colonists believed.
"Follow me," Jack called after they had their bearings. "The ship's this way. We can close the rift from there."
"Yeah, and I can give you a good blow to the face," Jenny muttered.
They swam to the Royal Charter as quickly as they could, trying to keep their heads above the waves. For one moment the wind was in their favor and the ship headed steadily towards them. Jenny managed to grab hold of a rope, probably part of the severely damaged rigging, that was dangling over the side of the ship. She hoisted herself up and extended a hand for Jack to grasp onto. She tried to pull him up beside her, but with his long coat and waterlogged apparel he was too heavy.
"Let me go," he shouted up to her. "Climb onto the deck and get someone from the crew to help."
Reluctantly, Jenny let go of his wrist and let him fall back into the sea. On the deck, dozens of men dashed about, trying to keep the ship together as it headed slowly towards land. She looked around for a man that wasn't doing anything vital to the ship's operation and successfully spotted a tall, thin man cowering behind some crates.
"You there," she said as she approached him. "I need your help. A friend of mine has fallen overboard, and he's too heavy for me to lift alone."
"I don't mean to disappoint you, ma'am, but anyone that falls into the sea during a hurricane is a dead man." The man spoke with a thick Australian accent.
Jenny pulled the man out from behind the crates. "Is that why you're hiding like a coward?" she asked as she pushed him towards the rail of the ship. She pinned him down, with his face looking down into the blackened waters. "Now are you going to help me, or would you rather join my friend?"
"Y-yes, ma'am! I mean, no ma'am," he stammered. "I-I'll help you."
Jenny let go of him and smiled as she patted his cheek. "That's better! Come along, then. He's over here." She led the way to the spot where she had climbed up and looked over the edge. Jack was clinging desperately to the end of the rope, unable to find a foothold to haul himself up.
"I swear, Jenny," he shouted up. "I have no idea how you managed this!"
"Just hold on a little longer," Jenny replied. "I've got someone here who's going to help us." She gestured for the Australian to grab the rope and the two worked together to pull Jack onto the deck.
Jack toppled onto the ship's deck and attempted to stand with wobbly legs. "For the first time in my life, I think I'm sea sick," he said.
"Well, pull yourself together so we can close the rift," Jenny replied.
"Hang on, you haven't introduced me to your new friend."
"Oh, this is... um." Jenny looked over at the Australian and realized for the first time that they hadn't been properly introduced. That's just as well, she thought, if I had waited much longer Jack could've died.
"William," the Australian said, holding out his hand for Jack to shake. He glanced at Jenny adding, "And I'm not so sure we're friends."
Jack gave Jenny a questioning look and she began to explain. "I sort of had to... threaten him to get his help. He insisted you were done for."
Jack chuckled as he shook William's hand. "Well, I'm sure she wouldn't have actually hurt you. My name's Jack, and this is Jenny."
"It's... nice to meet you," William said with hesitation.
"Now, if you don't mind, William, Jenny and I have a quick matter to tend to," Jack excused himself and guided Jenny to the stern of the ship.
"Do you have the machine that closes the rift?" Jenny asked. Somehow the wind seemed stronger at the stern, and she had to hold on tight to the rail to keep her footing.
Jack rifled through his coat pocket and held up the device for her to see. It was an odd-looking device, seemingly made from various junked parts from other machines. "This should do just fine," Jack insisted. "All we have to do is direct it towards the rift and change the settings."
"Settings? The rift has settings?"
"No, the device does." Jack looked out at the water in search of the gaping tear in reality that was the rift. He spotted it off to the port side of the ship and set the device to close it. At first nothing happened, but after a moment the rift snapped shut with a flash of light that, to the untrained eye, would have resembled horizontal lightning.
"It worked!" Jenny exclaimed. She squeezed Jack's arm in excitement.
"Whoa, don't get too excited yet," Jack warned. "We still have to get back to Cardiff."
"Back to... oh. How are we going to do that? Your time vortex whatever-it-was?"
"Manipulator, yes," Jack nodded. "I just have to set the coordinates."
"Oh, settings, settings. Don't you have any machines that you can just think what you want them to do?"
"You mean like a sonic screwdriver? Even they have settings in case the psychic centers get thrown off."
"A sonic what?"
"Never mind." Jack opened the leather flap protecting his vortex manipulator and began to change the settings. "Hold on to my arm tightly, alright?" he instructed. "It'll be a bumpy ride."
"Wait, Jack?" Jenny's tone changed from that of childlike glee to deep concern. "What's going to happen to all the people on this ship?"
Jack lowered his arm and looked at the people around them sadly. Crewmen were running around, desperately trying to keep the ship on course, William had resumed hiding behind his crates, and screams of fear could be heard below deck. "Most of them never make it to shore," he admitted.
"Then we have to stay," Jenny demanded. "We can still do some good for the people on this ship. We'll leave just before the ship wrecks."