Thunderclap and signal horn roared and faded to the rumbling sounds of thudding boots, slamming doors, and pelting rain.
"Arial Attack! Arial Attack! All hands on deck! Get your weapons and Move, Move, Move!" Gabriel's booming voice resonated through the hull.
"What do you see Rin? Report!" Artemis shouted up to the crow's nest. Her bedhead was evident, but her mind was wide awake and her scimitar was brandished, ready to fight.
"Zumddink iz fallink fast oboff us und hy kan not find de enemy!" Rin shouted over the railing, gripping the slick metal with her clawed hands, as her eyes combed the sky.
"Dammit Rin, keep on looking! I want all eyes to the sky! We probably have a British Airship above us. Stay calm, down with the Queen!"
"All Hail the Wulfenbach Empire! Down with the Queen!" The crew chanted in turn, quelling the spine tingling silence of the night with spoken bravado. They were not cowardly to shy from the darkness, but they knew how easily their flame could be snuffed.
The crew pulled in the sails as the engine started to hum under Gabriel's command while Artemis contemplated the situation and searched the dark clouds that pulsed with the grey light of lightning. How could they run so dark that Rin cannot see them? If they are attacking now they would want a head on attack, dropping from the upper cloud layer quickly and engaging with surprise. We don't have enough mobility yet to avoid it, so now would be the time. What is that falling anyways?
Another flash of lightning, and Rin shouted to Artemis "It iz a person fallink!"
Without hesitation Gabriel crossed the deck and cushioned the person's fall.
Artemis rushed over to Gabriel, and came to a startled stop. Her entire body stiffened, and in shock she took a step back as she took in the bloodstains in the girl's long white hair and shredded black robes, as well as the glass shards embedded in her skin.
What could be worse than an enemy ship?
A Warper.
Which do I get?
God damn it.
Gabriel slowly sat up and looked into his arms at the small girl, gently pulling her sticky hair away from her face. Both Gabriel and Artemis noted the glass shards still embedded in her skin and clothes. Gabriel looked up to Artemis with wide, entreating eyes. Artemis sighed and looked away.
"There is no enemy ship, return to post." Artemis reported. The crew shuffled out, exhaustion nipping at their heels,
Rin jumped down from the central mast and slid down the mainsheet, landing next to Gabriel. "Oh! A gurl!" Rin exclaimed as she felt for a pulse. "Und de gurl is schtill aliff, giff her to me!" Rin snatched the girl from Gabriel's arms. She iz light like feadder, but don' vorry, Hy vill fix her goot."
"No Rin, tie a weight to her ankle and throw her over, she is too much of a danger to save."
"She's a warper." Gabriel murmured as he stared at the girl.
"Yes." Artemis responded, "Which is exactly why you know we can't-"
"We can't kill her Artemis." Gabriel asserted, and Rin rumbled in agreement.
"I know she's just a child, but you both know how dangerous any warper can be. I have to protect my crew and my ship, and she is a serious threat!" Artemis gradually raised her voice as she paced the desk and brushed back her fiery hair.
Gabriel leaned back on the railing and patiently waited for Artemis to finish before he took a deep breath.
"I think she is your angel."
Artemis stopped.
She turned to Gabriel.
Her eyebrow raised, and her scowl deepened, and her voice escalated.
"We have a potential disaster on our hands, and now you decide to be funny? This is not the time for your religious beliefs Gabe!"
"I am dead serious, my Captain, and you know I do not lie."
Artemis looked from Gabriel to Rin, and and back again with an agitated growl, but they did not budge.
"Fine! You two take responsibility for her and end up dead!" Artemis' voice cracked on the last as she threw a concealed knife at their feet. They stared at each other in tense silence before Artemis turned and stomped away, fists shaking. The hatch slammed shut behind her.
A moment passed before Gabriel turned to Rin, who was gently examining the girl's wounds, and asked her "How did you oppose her direct order? You are a Jagermonster under Wulfenbach aren't you?"
Rin cooed for another moment before aknowleging Gabriel. "Ve are grateful to Herr Baron for takink us in after de Heterodynes disappeared, but ve hain't his schlaves."
Gabriel took note of Rin's odd behavior and sharp claws as he carefully reached over to take the girl. "Here, let me, I think you need some rest-"
No! Hy vill take kare uf de pretty gurl!" Rin jumped back and clutched the girl tightly while barring her teeth. "Hy em de doctor!" Rin opened the hatch and dropped down below, hurrying to her space before audibly slamming the door.
Gabriel struggled with his thoughts for a few minutes, fidgeting his hands and brushing his hair back. What is going on with Rin? Jagers are odd to start with, but this is not her. Rin is generous and talented with food, medicine, guns and tools. She would always obey Artemis and meticulously care for everything like a mother, so what is it about this girl that has Rin on the offensive.
What is it about this girl that has me opposing Artemis? Gabriel thought as the color drained from his face. I had sworn my life to her, so what possessed me to stop her? Gabriel thoughts flickered from the girl to her eerie resemblance to the angels in the mosaics, the paintings, the prints, and the stained glass windows he had been surrounded by for so many years, to the red cuts and scrapes across her ethereal skin.
The fallen angel, the river of blood, the prophetic moments of the past swept through Gabriel's mind, and shot sparks down his spine and raised the hairs on his head.
That night he fell to his knees and prayed until the sun's rising light sapped the strength from his vigil. Give us strength to weather the storm, and courage to stand together to face our fears.