Chapter Four

Sky Pirates

"Hey, get up!"

Vyse Dyne stirred. He had heard the ruckus from his bedroom but in his lust for sleep had tried to ignore it. Now he was being painfully poked in the ribs by a small, sleepy-eyed girl in a nightdress with her red hair in pigtails.

"Get up, Vyse. Get up right now." She retracted her finger and folded her arms as Vyse struggled to open his eyes and sit up in his hammock.

"Buzz off, Aika," he said bluntly to the girl. "I don't care if it is time to raise the flag, I'm tired from earlier and I want at least five more minutes."

He turned over, only to find his bed suddenly tilting a little more than he intended. With a thud, he found himself on the floor, covered in his duvet. Aika, not to be outdone in a contest of stubbornness, had grabbed the edge of his hammock and pulled, tipping him onto the floor. She stood over him, glaring and frowning.

Before Vyse could shout at her, she cut in. "It's not morning yet. The lookout spotted a ship in trouble. We're going on a rescue mission."

She had said the magic words. Vyse rose up as if mesmerised and brushed himself down. "Rescue mission?" he repeated, almost dreamily. Aika smiled at his sudden change in demeanour. "Yes. A Valuan ship was hit by fire from Black Pirates and sent out a distress flare. The Captain says we're all to report to duty."

"The Captain?" said Vyse in slight disbelief. "Call for us? But we're just the kids!" He crossed the room to his desk and looped a bandanna over his crop of bushy brown hair. Aika nodded thoughtfully. "I guess it's serious. Sounds like they were attacked without warning." She looked momentarily wistful. "Shame there won't be any treasure…"

Vyse tutted. "You and your treasure!" He picked up his day clothes.

"Shut up" said Aika, "And just get ready. We should be up there with the rest of the crew by now, but I can't help it if you want five more minutes." Vyse knew she was teasing, so he pulled a face. Aika grabbed him by the shoulders and steered him out of his room. "Now get out! I have to change." She slammed the door.

Vyse was momentarily bewildered at how easily manipulated he was. "Change in your own room!" he yelled at the closed door, but nevertheless he struggled into his clothes in the landing outside his room.

Moments later, Aika opened the door. She was wearing a simple white cotton shirt, and her traditional yellow shorts that Vyse recognised as the ones his mother had made her the previous summer. She was quite tall for her ten years, tall and slim from a basic diet and working long hours on a busy vessel. Her bunched hair was long enough to just touch her shoulders.

"Finally, you're done. Quit holding me up already." She yawned and stretched.

Vyse started off down the corridor, past three more cabins and towards a crude ladder made of logs and twine. It shook with his weight as he climbed it; soon it wouldn't be able to hold him up and they'd need a new one. He and Aika were growing up fast. The fact that the Captain had called for them for this rescue mission was incontestable proof of this.

Vyse leapt over the top of the ladder, pausing only to extend a hand to Aika behind him. He turned around, only to find himself face to face with Captain Dyne.

The Captain was a formidable man. He stood over six feet tall, and where Vyse and Aika were still scrawny and childlike he was brawny and muscular. Vyse knew he could lift a small cannon over his head; he had seen him do it. However, there was something understated to his power: he wore a long-sleeved blue shirt with a battered red leather waistcoat that was never done up, with thick cotton trousers tucked uniformly into sturdy, no-nonsense black boots. Captain Dyne knew from his long years of sailing that if you looked at the sailor with the bare chest and arms, flexing his oiled muscles, you could probably outwit him because of his obvious arrogance. At first glance, Captain Dyne was nothing out of the ordinary, but if he were to square up for a fight in a sailor's tavern, you could almost bet that the place would be almost empty in seconds. Nobody really wanted to fight Captain Dyne; mainly because they knew in turn that Captain Dyne never really wanted to fight…unless, of course, it was completely necessary.

"Vyse," he said, rubbing one hand over the stubble on his chin. "You are very late."

"Yes Sir," barked Vyse subordinately.

"When you are on a ship," continued Dyne, folding his strong arms almost deliberately slowly; "Being late can-"

"-Cost lives, yes, I know." Aika, who had shrunk behind Vyse so as not to attract too much attention, was incensed at Vyse's blind arrogance, and she extended her fingers and jabbed him straight in the ribs. Vyse lurched forward suddenly, and earned an even sterner look from the Captain.

"Do not interrupt me."

Vyse truly was ashamed, and from the pit of his stomach to the back of his throat there blazed a trail of uneasiness. He hadn't meant to be cheeky to the Captain; he only wanted to hurry things along.

"This is possibly the most important night of your lives as sailors," continued Dyne, unfolding his arms. Vyse copied his movements and stood to attention, as did Aika behind him a little more tentatively. "A Valuan ship of high ranking has been attacked without provocation by a band of Black Pirates. The ship is aflame and seriously damaged. You are to go in groups to the upper deck only-" here he extended a finger for emphasis; "-as it is much too dangerous to traverse the lower decks. If you recover survivors, you are to lead them to our ships within your groups as quickly and as effectively as you can."

He paused to exhale thoughtfully. "Of course, had you been here on time as I had requested, you would already know all of this."

"I'm sorry, Dad." Vyse's voice was barely a whisper.

Dyne turned away slowly and strode three measured paces. "I assume you are ready. Board the ship now. Your group will be waiting for you."

He turned back swiftly. "Do not be late again. Aika, I expect better of you."

Aika barely nodded; it was one of those rare moments where she was thankful for Vyse, as his attitude had saved her further embarrassment. Dyne took the same three paces back to them. He looked Vyse in the eye.

"And don't call me 'Dad'."

Vyse lowered his eyes. "Yes Captain."

Dyne allowed himself a few seconds' grace, before turning and re-entering his cabin with barely a sound. He closed the door on his son and adoptive daughter. He knew that as a father he should be gravely concerned perhaps to the point of panic at the mere idea of sending children onto a burning ship.

"I don't blame you for wanting them to go."

Dyne felt a soft hand on his shoulder and breathed in the homely scent of a day's cooking. He smiled, and said without turning, "Thank you. You know I wouldn't let them near a rescue mission without your approval."

Laurel Dyne draped her arm over her husband's strong shoulders. "They're getting older all the time. They need to wise up as they grow. I guess if Vyse is going to take after his father, he's going to have to get hands-on sooner rather than later." She crossed to the other side of the cabin where her stitching lay on a cushion. She picked it up carefully, seated herself and laid it out on her lap.

Dyne picked up a beaker from the table, examined it as though inspecting it for signs of tarnish, then shrugged and took a gulp from the contents. He wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve and said, "Let's get going. The more we stall, the more lives are lost."

He crossed to the door to see his son and Aika rushing together up the ladder that led from the underground to the island. Vyse stopped at the top as always to help his friend up. Dyne knew he shouldn't wish for his son to make him proud, but he did.