The Legend of Zelda: Sky Lines

by Light Onthemayo

One hundred and fifty years after the disaster with the Spirit Tracks, Hyrule has risen to the skies. The people have made a living through the use of airships and the "Sky Lines", trails of intense wind used to aid these airships in their travels. On the eve of a fantastic adventure, a young man named Link has just been given command of his own airship...

67. Link's First Crew (At 5 Rupees a Head)

Chapter 67: Link's First Crew (At 5 Rupees a Head)

…

~~Day 34.

~~I still can't believe the amount of progress made on the new airship. We were only gone for three days, but thanks to the people I've met down here, Irleen and I have taken a dramatic leap toward our goal to return to the sky. I've shaken so many hands today, it feels like I've dislocated my shoulder again.

~~But now, I have a new problem. The ship's too big. Whereas I've been expecting a schooner similar to the Island Sonata, the plans for the final vessel show that it's going to be much larger and much more complicated. This includes whatever experimental contraptions that Leynne, Rosaline, and Dubbl have come up with, and possibly whatever Sello has planned. I'll need more than general airmen. I'll definitely need an engineering group. I'm still missing some of the key details for the ship's sail plan, so I might need Dubbl to teach me how it's supposed to work. I thought it was going to be a three-masted schooner, but I can't seem to get a straight answer out of her. Probably because I'm relying on Dholit to translate for me.

~~Tomorrow morning, Leynne wants all of us to meet to discuss the progression of the ship. They're still referring to it as the "Island Sonata 2", and I'm hoping I can deter them from continuing with that name. The problem is I can't seem to come up with a better one.

…

The next morning, Link and Irleen met with Leynne, Dubbl, Dholit (who was there mostly to translate for Dubbl when necessary), Lidago, Rosaline, Sello, Talein, Kohg, Kalvin (who helped organize the miners coming directly from the Fire Realm), and Louis (who organized the miner group who had been stranded in the Ocean Realm). Link and Leynne stood at the head of the table (unofficially; the head was just the side of the table which also allowed a view of the couch) with Irleen hovering overhead. On their right stood Talein, Kalvin, and Rosaline. To the left, Louis, Dubbl, and Dholit stood with Kohg and Lidago behind them. Since Sello had been rendered incapable of standing due to another bout of intoxication, he had been left on the couch.

"Thank you all foh ahriving this eahly," Leynne began. "I wanted to staht this off befoh the rest of the volunteehs awoke so that we can be suh that construction is proceeding in the right direction. So, ah theh any concehns that we need to address fihst?" Kalvin, a bearded man wearing a blue shirt and worn work trousers, raised his hand. "Yes?"

Kalvin glanced around the table as he asked, "Anyone 'sides me see wha' the drunk's been buildin' b'hind the ship?"

Leynne raised his hand to calm the man's tone. "We all know and ah appropriately afraid of Sello's machinations," he said. "I suspect that, as long as no one is anywheh in close proximity to it, no one will die. Hopefully."

"Tha's fine 'n all," Louis, the gentleman with a thin moustache and wearing just a pair of dirty overalls, spoke up, "bu' 'ow do ya plan t' pu' tha' in the ship?"

"Wit de ballast tank," Rosaline said. "We'll be seein' if we can move it today. Talein, Kalvin, an' Louis, I may be needin' to bohrow some of youh men."

"How many?" Talein asked.

"Let's make a safe bet and just assume all of them," Leynne said. "The tank is incredibly buoyant, and we will need all the weight we can provide in ohdeh to move it to this location. Othehwise, we'll lose a tank that has aspirations of becoming a balloon."

"And that would look pretty stupid," Irleen said.

"D'ya wan' the Gorons?" Kalvin asked.

"All the weight we can," Leynne said. "Lidago, we will need you as well."

"Doh," Lidago said with a strong nod.

"Captain friend want Yook?" Kohg asked.

Leynne frowned. "I'm ratheh uncehtain if that's a wise idea, Kohg. While I don't doubt youh people's strength, I'm moh concehned with the effects of the wahmeh climate on them. The train station is a very long distance from heh."

Kohg bashed his chest with one hand. "Yook strong. Yook stand heat."

Leynne looked hesitant for a moment, but then gave a nod. "Very well. But if youh people staht feeling ill, please have them switch with someone else. It won't do much good if they wohk themselves to illness."

Kohg nodded. "Kohg understand."

"Any otheh items?" Leynne asked. No one raised their hand, and Link thought about putting his up. But before he could make the decision, Leynne continued, "All right. I believe we've already covehed the fihst item I had concehning the ballast tanks."

"Ooh!" Rosaline spoke up. "I just t'ought o' someting. If de ballast tank be up in de air, how do we get it?"

"Yes, of couhse," Leynne said. "I meant to address this, too. Dholit, do you think some of the Gelto can reach a height well above the top of a train? And, well, quite likely a very dangerous height?"

Dholit rubbed her hands together. "Just watch us," she said with a devilish grin.

"Easy, Dholit," Rosaline said. "Yeh don't be needin' to kill de tank."

"On to the next matteh," Leynne said. "It's occuhed to us that, with the size of this vessel, a crew needs to be assembled and trained as soon as possible. We'll have a tent set aside the grounds foh Link to use. If anyone you know would like to sign up, feel free to send them to Link."

"Uh… a few things before that," Link spoke up. "First, until I can register the ship with the company, no one will be getting paid. It's quite likely that most of the crew will be living off whatever ration packs we bring aboard, but I'll try to fix it up as soon as I can."

"I will be providing a signing bonus of five rupees foh each pehson who signs up," Leynne said. "Howeveh, most funds, including any fohm of donation, will be going towahd provisions."

"It will take us… maybe a day or two to raise the ship to the sky kingdom," Link said. "And it could be another day before we can dock at a nearby island for replacement supplies, so it'll be rough.

"Second…" Link hesitated for a moment while he chose his wording. "I know it might be a little ridiculous to say this, but anyone sailing with me must follow all of my orders."

"Ya make it sound like a threat," Kalvin said.

Link shook his head. "I don't mean to. But you have to understand something about airships. Being so far above the surface, crews don't have the luxury of making a mistake. If you fall, there's nothing but luck to catch you. If even the slightest problem occurs, it could cost the whole crew their lives. I know I'm young and don't look very experienced… but if anyone is going to serve on my crew, I need them to follow my orders to their very spirit. That's all I ask."

"You'll want to listen to him," Irleen said, flying circles above Link's head. "I didn't follow orders, and look what happened to me!"

Link pressed a hand to his face. "Irleen…"

"Yes!" Irleen cried out, bouncing around the surface of the table. "Behold! The wrath of Link! It compels you to follow orders!"

She stopped in front of Link and Leynne. Leynne had his arms crossed as he stared at her. "Ah you finished?" he asked.

"Yeah," Irleen said. "Sorry, I had to get that out of my system." She cleared her throat and continued, "All joking aside, Link is the only one here who knows how to run a ship. It's him or nothing."

"I can vouch foh him as well," Leynne said. "Link is much wiseh to the wohkings of an aihship than the five of us combined. Without him, this entih project would neveh have made it to the stage it's in now."

"Thank you, Leynne," Link said. Then he addressed the others again. "Third. I know that some people may want to pursue other forms of employment once we get to the sky. All I ask is that everyone on the ship take up a job whenever necessary. I can't have passengers on this ship. Everyone has to do their part."

"We'll pass the word," Louis said, "bu'… some o' me boys ain' sure 'bou' all this. They'll build it, bu' I don' think they wanna ride it."

Link nodded. "That's fine. The last thing I need is an unwilling crew."

"Is that all?" Leynne asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Link said.

"Okay. If the group you represent wasn't mentioned, feel free to continue wohk from yestehday. Meeting is adjouhned."

"I'll be comin' to get de men foh de tank in a moment," Rosaline called out to Talein, Kohg, Louis, and Kalvin as they left.

"Does anyone want to wake up Sello and get him back to wohk?" Leynne asked.

"Not willingly," Dholit said.

"C'mon, Lidago," Rosaline said. "Let's get Ding-Dong back to wohk."

"Goron," Lidago replied with a nod.

Leynne turned to Dholit. "Seriously. Wheh'd the couch come from?"

Dholit just shrugged, her face showing him an amused grin.

…

Leynne set up a tent with a table and chair inside for Link to use while he was recruiting. He was a little excited at first, but he found himself admitting to Irleen after a few hours that he was beginning to think that no one was interested in joining the crew, especially with the standards that he had set during the meeting. Leynne brought him lunch and pointed out that they had been keeping everyone busy, especially since handling the ballast tanks was a very delicate process.

It was not until after Leynne left that someone appeared to sign up. And he was a little disappointed with the first of his new crew.

"Hi," Dholit said when she poked her head into the tent. "Is this the line foh the 'Be My Captain' club?"

"Get out!" Irleen hollered at her, flying circles around Link's head.

Dholit frowned. "Oh, come on now, Ihleen," she said, "you know I'm only joking."

"I'm not!"

"Irleen, come on," Link pleaded. "Did you need something, Dholit?"

"Yes," Dholit said as she shoved the curtain aside. "I brought some volunteehs."

Dubbl stepped in first, and then four more Gelto filed into the tent. Link began to feel uncomfortable; the looks on their faces were stern, as if Link had done something to wrong them. They each wore work trousers and shirts that were tight against their bodies. Two had their hair tied into short pigtails, the third a long ponytail like Dholit, and the fourth had her hair cropped, making her look more like a boy.

Link raised an eyebrow at Dholit. "Volunteers?"

"Actually, Dubbl being on youh crew is moah of a given," Dholit explained. "The otheh fouh ah the winnahs."

"The… winners?" Link asked.

"The winners of what?" Irleen asked.

"Oh, just a little game we played," Dholit said with a small, dismissive wave. "Theah ah some Gilto who would like to sehve directly undeh the Hylian who slew the giant Malgyohg, and these fouh weh the most detehmined."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Irleen said. "Do any of them speak Hylian?"

"I speak," Dubbl said.

"Yep," Dholit said.

"That's just one!" Irleen hollered.

"Dholit, Dubbl, I can't give orders to anyone who doesn't speak Hylian," Link told them gently. "And I'm not sure if I can learn enough Geltoan to provide translations for my orders."

"Ah, but we already had a way around that," Dholit told him. "While it's true that they'll take time to get use to taking ohdehs in Hylian, you'll have Dubbl around to translate foh you. She already knows some Hylian, so I'm quite suah that she's capable of leahning moah wohds foh the job."

Link eyed their unresponsive faces for a moment. "Have you already explained the situation to them? My terms?" Dholit nodded. Link stood up and directly addressed the Gelto, which he realized all stood a head taller than him. "Are you willing to sail under a captain younger than yourselves?" he asked.

Only Dubbl's stern face broke as she gave Dholit a questioning look. So Dholit offered, "Wabun nayx lwikinak zatciyb 'an 'atuno thib 'an Xili'anan ziyn botaykwya 'anw hida'tawalw dhugra max?"

"Ay'a, Amda!" Dubbl and the four Gelto replied in unison.

This startled Link for a moment, causing him to cast a surprised look in Dholit's direction. "Is… is that normal?" he asked.

"They ah quite devoted," Dholit replied.

Link turned back to them. "I should warn you that there aren't many female airmen. Can you handle yourselves if trouble starts?"

"'Ak sunway nayx gusjak 'an 'ilthan ca," Dholit said, giving her arm an affirmative pump. "Wabun nayx yayxwokak 'anw sunway max?"

"Ay'a, Amda!" the four Gelto replied.

"Dhol?" Dubbl asked, her face indicating confusion.

"'Aydhom!" Dholit quickly said. "'Inkanifya'ak zangiyth 'aydhom."

"Waba socikwotak max?" Dubbl asked, appearing annoyed.

"'Inu yabbid," Dholit told her, her hands held up in polite defense. "'Ak lwabbil ciyff 'imayn 'anik 'a."

Dubbl eyed her for a moment before asking Link, "What do we call you?"

"Call me?" Link asked.

"How do you want to be addressed in Hylian?" Dholit asked. "We'h not exactly up-to-date with Hylian titles."

"Oh, uh… just… just call me 'Captain'," Link said.

"Kyabtin," Dubbl repeated. Then she told the other Gelto, "Zhi 'kyabtin'."

"Ay'a, Kyabtin!" they, including Dubbl, said.

"That's… barely close enough," Irleen said. "I can't even speak Hylian, but it sounds a little off."

Link shrugged. "It'll work." Then he turned and addressed the Gelto, "Being airme—uh…"

"It's okay," Dholit said. "I'll translate it in a way that should make sense."

"Okay," Link said with a nod. "Being airmen is serious business. I need you to work hard to ensure that we all survive. Can you do that?"

"Wabun addu taynolak zhamin 'atuno naday," Dholit said with a stronger tone than Link had intended, arms folded behind her back. "Taris sulwayb! Wabun nayx taynolak zhamin 'atuno naday max!? Wabun lwaytaycibak 'anw 'atoyn zabaytkw wabnik kwilis wabin giltun max!?"

The Gelto stood stunned for a moment, and Link thought he could see awe glittering in their golden eyes. Then all five of them turned to Link and bowed their heads. "Amda Kyabtin!" they said in unison. "'Inu nayx tayrosak 'imayn tinnayl 'ulwis!"

Dholit turned to Link. "They said yes," she told them with a grin.

"The hell they did!" Irleen shouted at her. "What have you been telling them!?"

Dholit showed her a fake look of shock. "Ihleen, I cannot simply translate what Link says," she said. "I have no choice but to round a very sophisticated cultural bahrieh so that his meaning comes across in the correct manneh."

Link looked up at Irleen and gave a shrug. "It sounds all right to me."

Irleen was silent for a moment. "Maybe, but I'm still watching you," she told Dholit. "I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with your head."

Link indicated the lined parchment sitting in the middle of the desk. "Tell them to sign their names," he said. "And… well, I kinda need to know their names, too."

Dholit nodded and turned to them. "Cayzholan wabin dhalbin."

Dubbl stepped up, picked up the quill on the table, and scribbled a strange set of shapes on the parchment. Link looked up and told her, "Dubbl, since you know the most Hylian, I'm going to make you a chief airman. These other four will be directly under your command."

"I unde'stand," Dubbl nodded.

Link saluted her with his right hand. "Welcome aboard, Chief Dubbl."

Dubbl returned the salute with her right hand. "Thank you, Kyabtin." Link dismissed the salute, and she stepped aside.

The next to step forward was one of the girls with pigtails. Link tried to make a mental note that she was wearing a blue shirt and had a mole under her left eye. "This is Twali," Dholit said. "She's a very swift runnah, something which I suspect you can use?"

"Possibly," Link said. He gave her a salute. "Welcome aboard, Airman Twali."

Twali gave Dholit a confused look, so Dholit leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "'Imtowu, Kyabtin," Twali replied, returning the salute with a shaky hand.

The next to step forward was the Gelto with the cropped hair. Link noticed a large scar on her left arm starting from the inside of her wrist, wrapping around her forearm, and terminating at the elbow. Link asked, "Where'd the scar come from?"

"Lwamm stahted a fight with a Malgyohg hohde using only a knife," Dholit said. "And she decided to win."

Link nodded, having had the experience of fighting a horde of Malgyorg. He saluted her and said, "Welcome aboard, Airman Lwamm."

"'Imtowu, Kyabtin," she responded with a more graveled voice than Link had ever encountered from a woman. She returned the salute, and Link dismissed it.

The other Gelto with pigtails stepped forward and began writing her name. "This is Biluf," Dholit said. "She has very swift reflexes and once caught an ahrow with heh baah hand."

"Hopefully, something like that won't come up very often," Irleen said.

"Welcome aboard, Airman Biluf," Link said with a salute.

"'Imtowu, Kyabtin," she said while returning the salute. Link dismissed it.

The last one, the one with the ponytail, appeared to hesitate before picking up the quill. "And this one is Layna," Dholit said. "Of these fouh, she's the best fightah."

"How do you know?" Irleen asked.

"The three oldeh opponents nuhsing broken ahms," Dholit replied with a grin.

Link and Irleen exchanged a look. "What… kind of contest did you put them through, again?" Irleen asked.

Dholit shrugged. "Just a little spahring. Oh, but be kind to heh. She's a little shy."

"Welcome aboard, Airman Layna," Link said, saluting.

He saw her start and form a fist. But she quickly saluted in response. "'I-'imtowu, K-Kyabtin."

"I don't know when we'll be able to train," Link told Dubbl, "but make sure they're available."

"Yes, Kyabtin," she replied.

"Link," Irleen whispered to him. "Money."

"Oh, right," Link muttered as he leaned over and put his hand into a small box of blue rupees Leynne had left next to his chair. He pulled out five and handed them out. "Dholit probably already told you, but I'll try to get us a company payroll as soon as I can." Then he noticed that each of them were giving their rupees a curious look. "Is something wrong?" he asked Dholit.

"Gelto don't regulahly use money," Dholit told him. "Don't wohry, I'll cleah it up." She said a few hushed words in Geltoan and ushered them outside. "Thank you!"

"Well," Link said as he sat down. "That's five."

"So you noticed that Dholit didn't sign up, too, huh?" Irleen said. "With all the attention she shows you, that's a pretty unexpected move."

Link shrugged. "Maybe she's debating it."

…

A half-hour later, Sello wandered in and stepped up to the table. Link was a little concerned by his appearance. Sello's orange bodysuit was covered in black smudges, and his waistcoat looked like it was slowly turning green. He swayed as he stood, and Link could see the mouthpiece of a flask protruding from a breast pocket.

"Uh… did you need something, Sello?" Link asked.

Sello took a moment to focus on Link. "Oh, hi," he greeted.

"Hi, Sello," Link replied. "Did you want something?"

"Iz dere spiridz in the sky?" he asked.

"You've gotta be joking…" Irleen groaned.

"Uh… y-yeah?" Link replied.

"Cool smoke," Sello said with a nod. Then Link watched as Sello picked up the quill and took up part of the page by marking it with a large X. "By ma spleen, I fly."

Link looked down at the parchment. "You… wanna go with us?"

"Heh-yeah."

"O-okay, then," Link said as he stood. He saluted and said, "Welcome aboard, Chief Sello."

"Yeah!" Sello said as he brought up his non-writing hand. He revealed the presence of a bottle in it by saluting with it. Pang! Sello suddenly reeled and fell into a heap on the floor in front of the table.

"Oh, boy…" Irleen said as she fluttered over Sello. "Are you sure you wanna make him a chief?"

"Do you think anyone else knows what he's building?" Link replied. "If we just leave him in the engine room, how much trouble could he be?"

"And a heard of liver!" Sello declared.

"Point taken," Irleen said. "If anything, he'll kill himself where no one else will find him."

"That's… not what I meant," Link said.

Sello put a hand on the edge of the table and pulled himself up. "I think I saw a duck," he told Link.

"That wouldn't surprise me," Irleen commented.

Link sat back down and retrieved a rupee. "Here you go," he told Sello as he handed over the rupee. "Oh." He pulled Sello's hammer from his belt and offered it to him. "I've been meaning to give this back to you."

Sello shook his head. "Nah. Keep it. I got ten more."

"Where?" Link asked as he set the hammer down.

"Back home."

"In the volcano?" Link asked. Sello nodded. "In the rooms at the top of the volcano." Sello nodded again. "In the area that was attacked by Drumstik." He nodded again. "That was flooded with lava."

"Heh-yeah," Sello said.

Link could see that he had failed to explain why Sello might want the hammer back, so he surrendered. "Okay then," he said as he replaced the hammer. "Is that all?"

"Heh-yep," Sello said.

BAM! Without warning, Sello bent forward and slammed his forehead into the table. The sound caused both Link and Irleen to cry out in surprise, and Link pressed his back against the chair. When Sello stood back up, the parchment had adhered to his forehead, and he turned and stepped out of the tent without a word.

Link quickly rose from his chair and followed him. "Sello! Sello, wait up!"

…

Leynne stepped into the tent after an hour of waiting. "How ah you doing?" he asked.

"Five Gelto and a drunk," Irleen said. "I've been thinking of a way to turn it into a joke."

"That's… probably about as much as I expected, really," Link said. "I've only ever seen Captain Alfonzo recruiting once, and it turned into a disaster because a bunch of drunk airmen from another company decided to attack us. It was the first time I'd seen the captain use a chair to discipline another captain's men."

"You mean he doesn't nohmally use a chaih?" Leynne asked.

"No, it's usually a board."

The smile left Leynne's face. "Oh. Well, I thought I would stop by to offeh my own sehvices."

Link watched him pick up the quill and scribble his name on the list. "Leynne, are you sure?" he asked.

"If my suspicion is cohrect, you'll need a navigatoh," he said.

"I'll also need maps," Link said as he stood up. "But you're just as good. Welcome aboard, Chief Leynne."

Leynne glanced up to find Link saluting. "Is that what ouh relationship has come to?" he asked with a smile.

"He's doing it to everyone else," Irleen said while Link gave a concerned look.

"I'm joking," Leynne said as he returned the salute. "Thank you foh having me, Captain."

…

"S'cuse us, sir."

Link started awake when he heard a man's voice address him. He looked up at two men standing in front of the table while Lidago and another Goron stood holding open the tent flaps. He took a moment to shake the sleepiness out of his head. "Yes?"

"I'm Harley," the larger of the two men, sporting short red hair and a thick beard, said as he offered out a hand. Link took it. "This is me bud Lawrence."

"'Ello," Lawrence, a man with a thick gut on top of muscles and a completely hairless head and chest, said as he shook hands with Link.

"We 'eard ya's lookin' fer a crew," Harley said. "We was miners on the Twen'y-Four, an' we wa'a 'elp."

Link nodded. "Well… we could use some more engineering crew," he told them. "So far, we only have Sello."

"The drunk building the engine," Irleen added.

Link bit his lip for a moment. "Thank you, Irleen," he said. "Anyway, most of your duties will be maintaining machinery. And… well, you'll have to work with the drunk; he'll technically be your boss. Do you think you can do that?"

Harley and Lawrence exchanged looks. "'Ow 'ard can it be?" Lawrence asked.

"Are you also willing to take orders from someone younger than you?" Link asked.

Both men shrugged. "Ya ain' much older 'an our old boss," Lawrence said.

"I'd take orders from a baby s'long as 'e knew wha' 'e's doin'," Harley said.

Link indicated the parchment as he leaned over to pull out their advance. "Just sign your names."

Lawrence picked up the quill. "'Ow'd this mess ge' 'ere?" he asked.

"Your boss," Irleen answered. "He hit it with his head."

"Oh."

Link waited for each man to sign his name before handing them their blue rupee. Then he saluted. "Airman Lawrence, Airman Harley, welcome aboard."

"Thank you, Cap'n," Harley said with a salute. Lawrence took a moment longer to salute, unaware of the procedure at first. After Link dismissed it, Harley asked, "One o' our Goron buddies also wanted t' join, bu' 'e can' wri'e 'is name."

"If it is okay, sir," the Goron behind them said. "I would like to work with them."

Link nodded. "Yeah, I suppose we can do that," he said. "Would you leave a mark for me? I-I don't want someone else to do it; it has to be you." The Goron accepted the quill from Lawrence and stretched past him to put a large dab of ink on the parchment. "What's your name?"

"Helo, Captain," the Goron answered, using his other hand to scratch at the bushy hair on top of his head.

Link saluted him. "Welcome aboard, Airman Helo."

"Thank you, Captain," Helo replied with a salute.

"Goron," Lidago spoke up.

Helo nodded at him. "Goron," he said. Then he told Link, "Lidago asks to be on the crew, too. Will that be okay?"

Link hesitated. "He understands that we'll be high in the air, right?"

Helo nodded. "Yes, sir. He wants to get over his fear."

"I suppose we could use someone in case we have large jobs," Link said. "And having Lidago around means we'll have someone to appraise hull damage. Do you think you can do that, Lidago?"

"Goron?" Helo asked, gesturing with his hands in a manner that Link could not quite understand.

"Goron," Lidago replied with a sharp nod.

"He can," Helo said.

"I still can't get over how that language works…" Irleen groaned.

"Let him make a mark then," Link said.

"Goron," Helo told Lidago, giving him the quill. Then he gestured to the parchment. "Goron."

Harley stepped aside, allowing Lidago to place a dot underneath Helo's. Link grinned as he saluted. "Goron," he told Lidago.

Lidago gave Helo a confused look before returning the salute. "Goron."

…

Evening was just starting when the next person entered the tent.

And Link was surprised to see who it was. "S-seaman Gold?" he asked.

"Mister Gold for the moment," Gold replied, tugging on the plain, white shirt he wore.

"You left the Goddess's Tides?" Irleen asked.

Gold nodded. "Rumors and all. Caught me attention, especially the part 'bout the young cap'n puttin' t'gether a ship in Fishington o' all places. I knew it 'ad tae be yeh. So I told me cap'n I wanted tae leave. And I came 'ere." He looked down at the crew list. "What the…?"

"Five Gelto and two Gorons," Link said, anticipating the comment about the strange writing.

"And this mess?" Gold asked, pointing at the parchment.

"A drunk," Irleen said.

Gold made a sound, although it was hard for Link to tell if he was impressed or disappointed. He picked up the quill. "I think I'll add one more."

Link quickly put his hand over the paper to block Gold. He took a moment before answering Gold's questioning look. "You should know," he said. "Captain Albel, he… he didn't believe I was a captain. Let alone a competent one."

"Aye," Gold said. "'E told me. 'E also told me that yeh got more potential in yeh than most cap'ns twice yer age. 'E said yeh'd make a great cap'n one o' these days. And I wanna brag that I was there when yeh did." At the final sentence, he gave Link a large smile.

"Can you take orders from me?" Link asked.

Gold sighed. "Cap'n, I look down at this list, and I see a bunch o' people that don't know where they're goin'. Yeh'r the only one seein' tae their survival. I ain't seen yeh in command, but I've seen yeh act on yer trainin'. Yeh take death 'ard. I know yeh won't let us down. Sir. So, yeah, I can take orders from yeh."

Link slowly removed his hand. "It might take time before I can get a company payroll for us," Link told him.

"If I wanted the pay, I'd stay with me other job," Gold said as he signed his name. Link leaned over and picked up a blue rupee. He set it on the table, drawing a confused look from Gold. "What's that?"

"Signing bonus," Link said. Then he shrugged as he stood up. "At least you guys have some kind of pay for now." He saluted. "Welcome aboard, Airman Gold."

Gold took a moment to study Link's salute before mirroring it. "Glad to serve with you, Cap'n Link."

Link dismissed the salute and asked, "Do you have a place to stay?"

"Actually," Gold said, "yer Gelto friend offered tae find me a place on the yard."

Link nodded. "Okay then."

…

Link spent the next hour writing in names of the people who had not written in Hylian. It was difficult with the Gelto crew since he and Irleen had to struggle for a moment to remember their names. The approaching darkness made it hard to see, so Link had just about decided to close things up when the last member of his new crew stepped in. His and Irleen's backs were turned as Link stood on the other side of the table, looking down at the list as he tried to determine what it must feel like to sign on to an airship.

"I hope I'm not intehrupting anything."

Link glanced over his shoulder. To his surprise, Cale stood inside. He wore a faded blue shirt and black trousers. On the floor next to him was a battered suitcase.

"Oh, Cale," Irleen said, fluttering to a stop in front of his face. "It's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you, too," he said with a smile.

"We were wondering what happened to you," Link told him. "It kinda surprised us when you went back to Library Town. I thought you were still following us."

"Well, technically, my assignment ended when you found Rosaline," Cale said. "I was fohtunate enough that Leynne bought my ticket foh me; afteh Kakucha Island, you… well, I was broke."

Link scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, sorry about that," he said. "I'm afraid you were the only source of money at the time."

Cale held up a hand. "It's quite all right." He took in a breath and let it out in a sigh. "I wanted to infohm you myself; I left the Library."

"Huh?" Link asked.

"Why!?" Irleen asked.

"Well… I was finished theah," he said. "I… I believe I mentioned my motivation foh joining the Library."

"Something about your mother, wasn't it?" Irleen asked.

He nodded. "I found out who she was. I found out… everything…" He sniffed and paused for a moment. "I'm sohry. Anyway, I've just retahned from Hovela. I-I wanted to tell my sisteh what I'd found befoah…

"Befoah I went up."

"Went up?" Irleen asked.

Cale nodded. "I've… fulfilled what I had to do. Now… I can't quite undehstand it, but… I want to do something mad. Something that means moah. I-I don't know if that makes sense to you, but…"

Link and Irleen exchanged a sly look. "Cale." Cale looked up. Link folded his arms behind his back and began speaking. "Can you, under duress, take orders from your superiors, including me?"

Cale blinked, surprised at the change in tone. "Y-yes."

"Will you perform any duty given to you, knowing that it could be your last?"

"I-I'd like to believe I've already done that," Cale said. "Madame Seilon's assignments could have killed me fouh different times."

"Five if you count the Gelto attack on the mining settlement," Irleen said.

Cale cringed and grabbed at his left shoulder. "Indeed…"

Link nodded and indicated the list. "If you think you can take it, sign your name." He watched Cale pick up the quill before stepping to the side of the table to pick up a blue rupee. When Cale looked up from reading the names on the list, Link handed him the rupee. "Your signing bonus. You'll get paid when we make contact with the company."

"I undehstand."

Link saluted him. "Welcome aboard, Airman Cale."

Cale stood stunned for a moment. Then he held up his hand in a salute. "Thank you, Captain Link."

…

~~Day 35.

~~Fifteen. Including myself and Irleen, this new ship has fifteen crew members for its first voyage. I don't really know whether to call it a "maiden voyage" or not; once we get up there, there's no telling what we'll do. I was really kind of surprised that thirteen people signed up. That was thirteen more than I expected, twelve more than I hoped for. I suppose the biggest surprises were Gold and Cale showing up. Cale—I don't know what's gotten into him. He seems different somehow. I guess between this adventure we've had on the surface and him finding out what he wanted about his mother did it. And Gold—He seems to think that sailing under me will be some kinda historical occasion or something. I don't know. But I'm glad to have him aboard.

~~I didn't get the chance to see it, but Rosaline told me that they put Sello's engine in the ship. Tomorrow, they're going to install the ballast tanks. Then we get to see if the ship takes off without us. Meanwhile, I'll be talking with my new crew, laying out how I want to run the ship. I see myself running it similarly to the way Captain Alfonzo ran the Grand Sails, but I don't know if I can duplicate his brand of discipline. They're not just my crew; they're my friends. Without a finished ship to practice on, I think I'll have to give the crew a crash course in modern sailing while we raise the ship. But I'm confident in this crew. I know who they are. They'll sail with me.

…

"So I am allowed to serve, then?"

The captain realized her mistake and smacked herself in the head. "Please? I… I really don't want this to become any more problematic…"

He was about to say more when he stopped. Just like before, he felt that something was different. He realized where he was, but he was a little confused as to who he was. He looked hard at the captain, trying to determine where she fit in this awkward world. Nothing seemed clear enough. Time was already destroyed. It had been changed, and nothing could be the same again.

"I… I wanted to stop you," he told the captain. "It just… I think I was frustrated."

The captain smiled at him. "You were more than a little 'frustrated'," she told him. "You were furious."

He shook his head. "I don't think I was that mad," he told her. "You were… it was like you were just playing with me."

Her eyes softened. "I know. And I am sorry that I did that."

He rubbed the back of his head. "I felt like… like I must have been some kind of idiot."

"I did not mean to. And, in truth…

"I just wanted to be part of your crew."

Link's eyes opened up, and he found himself facing a wall. His mind was fuzzy, but unlike the last dreams that had awoken him like this, his reaction was much calmer.

He did not know why, but he told the wall, "You are."