Chapter 82: Cheating

…

~~Day 65 (Command, Day 28)

~~We saw light on the horizon tonight and corrected our course. It turns out we've probably gone a little further south than we needed. I also ordered everyone to their previous duty stations and had Gold increase the ballast so that we're above the level of the island. I also told Lwamm (through Dubbl, of course) to stay on the bow and keep track of the island since Gold can't see it from the wheel. I decided to go ahead and get some sleep, and we should have the island close enough in the morning to tell if there are any Skyrider ships looking for us. The day shift is gonna be relieved when we dock. Hopefully, we'll have a bit of time before we have to hide the ship to get done what needs to be done. The main thing, of course, being supplies.

~~Other than that, today was actually pretty quiet. Cale got sick (probably from a bad ration), and he threw up in the head. It must not have been that bad if he had time to run from beside the aft capstans to the bow. I thought he just might pitch himself overboard and kinda chased him. But he's fine. I told him to take it easy.

…

Link had a hard time sleeping, though. He spent part of the night staring up at the deckhead visible from Irleen's natural light. His biggest concern was the feeling of paranoia he suddenly had. Now that his fears of running out of fuel had been alleviated, he worried that one of his crew would burst through the door at any moment to tell him that a Skyrider ship was coming. It made him want to stay awake and alert in case it happened. Even as he drifted off a couple of times, he jerked awake and maintained vigilance on the ceiling. The third time, however, he finally fell asleep.

He woke up early in the morning, just as the sun was giving color to the sky. After relieving himself and dressing, he stepped out onto the deck. The sun had yet to rise beyond the forecastle, leaving most of the weather deck in the shade. The night shift had yet to be relieved, Dubbl walking around the main deck while Lwamm seemed to stalk the forecastle around Gold. However, Link saw that Leynne was awake, leaning on the bulwark just aft of the port stairs with his head turned forward. All of the sails were leaning to port, indicating to Link that the ship was sailing at almost a beam reach to the wind. The wind must have shifted north again.

He stifled a yawn and approached Leynne. Leynne heard his boots against the deck and stood up, although he did not turn to Link right away. This allowed Link to speak first. "You're not still having trouble sleeping, are you?" he asked.

Leynne turned around and leaned his rear against the bulwark. "Hahdly, actually," he replied. "I went to sleep eahly, and I just woke up eahly. You… don't look so well rested, though."

"Yeah, I didn't really get much sleep," Link admitted, running a hand through his hair. "Are we close enough to see land?"

Leynne leaned further over to glance out at the island. "Mountains. Just like you said." He turned back to Link. "I can't help noticing that most otheh islands we've seen thus fah have been relatively flat. Any pahticulah reason?"

Link shrugged. "They've been like that as far as I've known."

Leynne nodded. "So what do we do now?"

"Let's go look for people who want to shoot us down," Link replied as he waved to Dubbl, who, while standing on the starboard side, had turned to observe their conversation.

"Nice to know youh lack of sleep hasn't affected youh sense of humoh," Leynne remarked with a grin.

"You thought that was funny?" Link asked while managing to keep a straight face. "I was being serious."

"Hence why it's funny." That comment caused Link to crack a smile at him.

"Yes, Kyabtin?" Dubbl asked as she stopped next to him.

"Would you send Twali up to the front of the ship?" Link asked her. "We need to borrow the duoscope."

"Yes, Kyabtin," she answered with a nod. She glanced at Leynne for a moment before turning to walk toward the stern.

Link, having caught the strange, brief moment of contemplation from her, looked back to find Leynne watching her walk away. Like her, he seemed to be staring at her with a preoccupied expression, and Link cleared his throat to regain Leynne's attention. "Is… something going on?" he asked.

Leynne tried to pass his staring off as a lapse in attention and gave Link a stumped glance. "Why do you ask?"

"You were staring at Dubbl."

Leynne shrugged. "So?"

"Are you… interested in her?"

Leynne pushed away from the bulwark. "On a professional level mostly. And, you have to admit, she does come across as chahming when she isn't being violent." Then he turned to Link and crossed his arms. "Ah you suggesting that I'm falling foh heh?"

Link was a little taken aback by Leynne's defensive tone, soft and subtle as it was. "Wha—I-I was just… just asking a question. I mean… it's none of my business. But… you know… it would be nice if you guys got along a little better."

"We've been handling ouhselves just fine."

That seemed to finalize the subject, although Link could not help feeling that Leynne wanted to argue more. He gave a nervous grin and glanced over the side. "Hey, look, it's an island," he remarked in the only kind of casual, faux excitement that was meant to change an awkward subject. Pointing at the bow, he added, "Let's go have a look up front."

They stepped up onto the forecastle and exchanged greetings with Gold. Then they stepped onto the beakhead. Leynne waited and watched as Link dropped to his knees and pulled himself onto the net anchored between the bowsprit and the exterior hull behind them. Leynne, opting for a position that was not as risky, grabbed one of the nearby forestays and placed one foot on the bowsprit next to Link. "Initial assessment?" he asked.

"Huh?" Link asked over his shoulder.

"How does it look from heh?" Leynne replied.

"Oh." Link looked back out at the island ahead of them. "So farrrr… there's a lot of ships down there. A bit of activity, but it looks like mainly junks at work down there."

"'Junks'?" Leynne asked.

"Small boats or ships with batten sails. The Sky Lines like to tear them apart, but they're good as small cargo haulers around islands. The ones here are generally used to transport mining products to the port for sale."

"Ah."

"I suppose there're Skyrider ships out here, but… I can't really tell like this."

"Kyabtin?" Both Link and Leynne glanced backwards to find Twali standing on the beakhead next to the heads. She offered out the duoscope, and Leynne accepted it and passed it to Link.

"Thanks, Twali," Link told her. Then he turned and, placing the duoscope over his eyes, examined Might Island again. "Hmm. That's… really not what I was expecting."

"What is it?" Leynne asked.

"Not a black flag in sight." Although he did not have a clear view of the entirety of Might Island's southern docks, his initial findings told him that, somehow, the Skyriders had yet to appear at this island. This, Link could tell because all of the flags of the nearby vessels were all sporting their original, unique banners. Not one of them had so much as a black field, and Link found this quite encouraging. If anything, no one would pay them any sort of unusual attention if they docked on the southwest side. He tried to get a look at the people wandering around the nearby docks, but despite spotting people wearing black clothing, it really was not very conclusive that they were Skyriders from this distance. It was not as if black was an uncommon color. He turned and told Leynne, "I think, if we just stay on this side for now, we'll be fine. We can get supplies on this side, and then you guys can probably leave me here so I can find the technoworks under the island."

Leynne crossed his arms. "I don't know about this, Link," he said in a grim tone. "By all accounts, theh should be Skyrideh vessels heh as well."

"If there are, they're probably on the other side of the island. I'm sure we're in the clear for now, but it's not like we're just going to jump into this blindly."

"I wasn't saying that. I'm just a little concehned. You know, like when something seems too easy?" Link turned to him with his mouth open, but Leynne held up a hand to stop him. "I undehstand you'h trying to be optimistic. But at least one of us should be paranoid. Don't you think?"

Link frowned as he thought. "Well… yeah, that's part of a second-in-command's job."

Leynne's frown grew annoyed. "Now you'h just making fun of me."

"Heh, no," Link told him as he handed him the duoscope. "I'll get you a manual while we're in town. It says so on the first page: paranoid. Right underneath the line 'Friend to the crew'."

That caused Leynne to give a brief burst of laughter as he recalled just how "friendly" a certain member of the crew had been with him. He handed the duoscope back to Twali. "So what would you like to do, Captain?" he asked.

"We'll dock," Link said, grinning at Leynne's mockery as he pushed up from the net. "The first sight of Skyriders, we'll bolt for Tabletop Island and see what supplies we can get from there." He and Leynne stepped away from the bowsprit. "We have to try."

"Right," Leynne said. "Just let me handle the supplies and the paranoia."

Link narrowed his eyes at Leynne as he asked, still grinning, "You sure you don't wanna be second?"

"Hah!" Leynne cawed as he stepped past a confused-looking Twali. "With every bone in my ass!" Link was not entirely certain of the sentiment behind Leynne's parting remark, but he took the good humor to mean he still had a second-in-command.

…

It was mid-morning when the Island Symphony finally docked at the western end of Might Island's southern docks. By then, both deck shifts were awake, and the night shift, eager to see shore as much as everyone else, did not immediately disappear below for their off-duty free time. Harley was also on-deck to look around, although he explained to Link that the Gorons wanted to make sure their source of food was not forgotten as well, lest they start eating the coal the engine used for fuel. Link was naturally a little embarrassed that he had forgotten about his Goron crew and passed the word along to Leynne, who had to disappear and work out the math between the ship's and his own funds to see what they could purchase.

When he returned to the deck about five minutes after the ship was moored, Link called the deck crew together to discuss their plans for disembarking. He was the first person Link called attention to when, seeing Leynne jogging toward the gangplank, he asked, "What did you get?"

"Well…" Leynne said, trailing off while he finished joining the rest of the crew. "As you can imagine, it does cut into ouh overall supplies, but not by much. Without checking prices, I believe we can affohd the Gorons' daily weight in rock foh a week, just as requested. Considering we have moh fuel and rations than what I had been expecting, though, I'd say ouh cuhrent resouhces can supplant the difference."

"That s'pose tae be an answer?" Gold asked.

Leynne gave him an irritated glare. "It means we can affohd it."

"Why you not say zat?" Dubbl asked him.

"Well, I'll tell you this then," Leynne told her, turning to her and crossing his arms. "If I have to answeh a question around you again, I'll just say 'yes' and 'no'. Faih?"

Dubbl also crossed her arms and turned to him with her own glare on her face. "Waba sasoyalak max, sanway?" she asked in a challenging voice.

"If you wanna f—" Leynne began, holding up a finger to point in her face.

"Guys!" Link snapped at them. "Leynne. Dubbl. Come on, not now."

"Yeah, c'mon," Gold said, nudging Leynne's shoulder with a fist. "We got stuff tae do."

"You can talk," Irleen, hovering over Dholit's head, spoke up. "You started it."

"Guys, listen to me, please," Link said. "We may only have a few hours before trouble shows up, and we need that time to get everything we need before we have to hide the Symphony. Leynne, as the one with the money, you'll be picking up our supplies as well as getting the things that Biluf needs." Link fished his wallet out of his pocket and handed it over. "That has the ship's funds. Use those up first."

Leynne stared at the wallet for a moment. "You… have a pink wallet?" The question produced a snigger from Irleen, Harley, and Gold.

"It was a gift," Link told them in a defensive tone. Then he turned to Dholit. "Did you get a list from Biluf?"

"Ah," Dholit replied, looking a little embarrassed. "Well, I failed to mention the falling out that's been had between myself and sciences outside of human natuah, My Captain." She turned aside and leaned out her hip as if inviting someone to stare at her rear end (which Gold obliged since he was standing right next to her). She made a hook with one finger and touched it to her lower lip while lowering her face so she could give Link an upward stare. "I can only offah myself foh punishment."

"Yep," Irleen spoke up, "still don't want to know where Link found you."

"Uh… no, that's okay, Dholit," Link told her in discomfort. "Um… I'm sure Biluf can remember what she needs, right?"

"I suppose," Dholit said with a nod as she relaxed her pose.

"You and Biluf will be going with Leynne then," Link said.

"Oy, Cap'n," Harley spoke up. "Wha' 'bou' a bi' o' shore time for the res' o' the crew?"

Link frowned at him. "It'll be a little tricky…" He gave it some thought and then decided. "I'll let you guys go in shifts; we can't afford to have too much of the deck crew missing. Anyone wanna go with Harley?"

There was a period of silence after Dholit finished her translation to the Gelto. He partially understood the Gelto's hesitation; it might be difficult for them to walk around in a town when they could not even talk to the person they were exploring with. For a moment, Link was concerned that he would have to tell Harley to just hang around the ship until Gold raised his hand. "I'll go with 'im, Cap'n," he told Link.

Link nodded at him. "Okay. As for the rest of you, if you want to go ashore, wait for Gold and Harley to get back. I'm sure you can figure out who will go after that on your own. The next people to go ashore need to go in pairs only. Guys, try not to take too long. Maybe an hour and a half?"

Gold nodded. "We can do that."

"Yeah, sure," Harley agreed.

"If anyone has to go inside," Link said, his voice taking on a stricter tone, "make sure that you have someone remain outside."

"What foh?" Cale asked.

"Because if the Skyridehs show up," Leynne explained, "we'll have to regroup quickly."

"Dubbl and I are both carrying flare guns," Link continued. "Dubbl will remain here and keep an eye on the ship with the rest of the deck crew. Now, if anyone happens to see an airman wearing a black tunic…" He paused and tugged on the front of his tunic for emphasis. "… and possibly wearing a weapon, either find me or report back to the ship. If anything happens, if anyone recognizes us or the ship, two blue flares will be fired into the air, one right after the other. If you see two blue flares, all crew need to finish their business and hustle back to the Symphony as soon as possible. That's why someone in a group has to be outside at all times."

"Wha' if we see jus' one flare?" Harley asked.

"Find its source and see what it is," Link said.

"What if it's not blue?" Cale asked.

"If it happens to be green, then it's a false alahm," Leynne said. "If it happens to be any otheh coloh, that means we've likely been discovehed and ah undeh attack. And that means that youh new priority is to get back to the ship."

"It's the simplest way to explain the flares," Link said. "Any other signals likely mean that something's gone wrong."

"Like Sello setting fire to the ship again."

Link gave Irleen an annoyed glance. "Right. Layna?"

"Right behind you, My Captain," Dholit said.

Link glanced over his shoulder and found himself only mildly surprised to see that she was standing there, already in her black outfit. "I assume she's going with me."

"It's heh standing ohdahs," Dholit replied.

"Why you going, Kyabtin?" Dubbl asked.

"I'm going to the dockmaster to see if there have been any Skyrider vessels here," Link explained. "I want to see if maybe the Moon's Shadow passed by. If so, they might have actually overshot us and went on to the next island. Does anyone not understand the signals?" Link paused and watched glances pass around his crew while Dholit finished her translation. When no one spoke up, Link nodded. "Okay then. We're trying not to take too long, so keep business as short as possible. Dubbl, you have the ship."

"Yes, Kyabtin," Dubbl replied, saluting.

Link dismissed the salute. "Let's go." He turned with the intention of stepping past Layna, but, instead, he found that she had already disappeared.

After walking to the end of the gangplank, Link and Irleen (and presumably Layna), along with Leynne, Dholit, and Biluf, turned toward the more populated areas near the middle of the docks while Gold and Harley continued straight ahead toward a market street. There was a bit of chatter with Link's group until Leynne, Dholit, and Biluf broke off after Link pointed out an appropriate supply store for Leynne to look at. Conversation between Link and Irleen had died down to her pointing out things to him and asking for an explanation. Of course, there was not as much Link needed to explain since she was becoming familiar with some of the usual workings of sailing. It turned out to mostly be questions about some of the strange items that Hylians had brought up with them, the strange foods which Irleen was sure had never appeared on Forelight Island before.

Link was a little surprised to realize how comfortable he was. He knew he should have been paying more attention to his surroundings since he never knew when a Skyrider might call attention to his green tunic. He had not even thought about grabbing one of his swords. But he was carrying Irleen's bomb gem, a decent means of defense if he needed it. The flare gun on his second belt, although holstered on the small of his back, could also be used as a weapon. For safety, though, the gun was empty and the shells all arranged on his belt as they should be. He had considered leaving behind the belt he had received with his tunic and just wearing the gun belt, but it had not been a conscious decision when he was getting dressed. He might have to try it, though, if only to cast off a little more of the Skyrider Captain likeness he wore.

Although appearing to be a port with the usual amenities of business, he did notice that something seemed a bit off from the last time he had been on Might Island. As he approached the middle section of the southern docks, he noticed that there were actually a lot of families in the area. Children were usually warned to stay away from the docks; even he had been warned a few times when he was younger, although the people doing the warning had not realized that he was an airman at the time. To see a family just wandering the docks without even boarding a ship was a little peculiar. He was also aware that some of the warehouses in this area had their larger doors closed with occasionally a small wooden or metal fence in the way. He found it curious, as security was very rarely much beyond a former airman wielding a plank with maybe a handle. If that was not enough, by the time he saw the dockmaster's office, he also saw a number of tents and shoddy-looking buildings taking up what was supposed to be a wide-open marketplace in the port's plaza. He paused outside the office door as he watched a mother and two children go inside the closest of the tents and not come back out as fast as he had expected.

"Something wrong, Link?" Irleen asked.

"I'm not sure," Link replied. He waited a moment to see if the mother and children would step back out, believing that they had just stepped into a shop. The children emerged, one holding a ball, and they began to play in front of the test as if it was their home. "Weird…"

"What, those kids?" Irleen asked. "What's weird about them?"

"They jus—" But Link cut himself off there. He was about to tell her that they should not have been playing in the dock area like that, or even in the middle of a marketplace. He decided against it, however, mostly because he remembered that they were short on time and dismissed it as him being distracted. "Never mind," he told her. "Let's get this over with."

Upon stepping inside the office, Link's nostrils were filled with an amazingly pungent stench. The source was a strand of raw garlic bulbs that had been nailed to the doorframe. Link stared at it for a moment, finding the garlic's presence to be probably the strangest thing he had noticed thus far about the island. He could not even think of a reasonable explanation for this.

"Sorry about the garlic," said a middle-aged man sitting at the desk on the far side of the front room.

Link glanced at the balding man wearing a dirty, blue shirt. "I try not to judge," Link said, his nose wrinkling at the garlic, "but… this is just…"

The man nodded his understanding of Link's inability to complete his sentence. "I know. You just get in?"

"Yeah, not too long ago," Link said as he walked further into the room.

"You a crewman?"

"Uh… yeah, something like that."

The man pointed at a thick shelf next to Link. "Logbook's right there."

Link turned and found that there was indeed an open logbook. "Oh. Thanks." He picked up the pen set next to the book and decided to fill in the Horizon's Eye's information again.

"Where'd ya come from?"

Link sighed. "Two-week trip from Sagacity Island. Do you mind if I look through here a minute? I just want to see if another ship I know came through here."

"Go ahead," the man said as he rose from his chair. "Two weeks out of Sagacity, huh?"

"Yeah," Link said with a weak laugh. "My ship's pretty strapped for supplies." Two pages in, and he found what he was looking for. The Moon's Shadow. So it had headed them off, and by a whole day; the logbook had been signed yesterday morning. The fact that there had been no sign of the ship near where the Island Symphony had docked looked all the more promising. He turned a couple more pages to see if he could find any other Skyrider vessels.

"What ship are ya lookin' for? Maybe I can help."

Link shook his head. "No, I found it. They came through here yesterday."

"The Moon's Shadow?"

Link suddenly felt his heart bang against his chest, and Irleen turned away from the window in the door to look at the office man. She and Link exchanged glances before Link turned the logbook back to its current page. Then, trying to reign in his surprise, he turned to the man. "What makes you say that?" he asked, his voice even and controlled.

"The captain, Captainnnn… North, maybe?" the man said. "Yeah, him. He came in and asked me'a keep an eye out for a young man wearin' green. Said he'd probably be comin' in today."

"And what did he want you to do?" Link asked, fearing the worst; the Moon's Shadow was still here, and Captain North had set up a trap for him. If so, Link would have to fire off flares and run back to the ship as fast as possible before the Skyriders could be alerted.

"Well," the man said as he leaned over and pulled open a drawer. "If I met the young man, I was toldda give him this." Link watched the man pull an envelope from the drawer and show it to him. Then the man turned it to read the single word on the front. "It's addressedda 'Link'."

Link managed to calm down a bit. It was no surprise North knew his name; he recalled that the airmen searching for them on East Iron Island had used it. It was a curious move by Captain North. Did it mean that North was leaving him a message just in case Link had not arrived yet? Or was the captain trying to mess with Link's head? He would not know until he got that letter. So he decided to play it smooth, try to act like the knowledge of the letter was no big deal while acknowledging that the fact that North had left it for him was a big deal. "Yeah, that's me, actually," he said as he strode up to the desk. He held out a hand. "Link of the Island Symphony, right?" His brain suddenly snapped at him that he had used the wrong name. North would only know Link's ship as the Island Sonata, having no means of correcting this.

"Yep, that's you then," the man said as he handed over the letter.

All types of warning signals flooded Link's mind, and he bowed his head as if to contemplate the name scrawled on the front so he could hide the look of absolute horror on his face. He was busted. He was busted, and he did not know how. North could not recognize him passing on a street lit with lamps, but he knew the correct name of Link's ship? With care, trying to avoid letting his hands shake too much, he opened the envelope and pulled out a single page. His breathing ceased as he read an elegantly-written letter. He reread it again, and then once more. For a moment, the man wondered if Link's crumpling the letter between his fingers meant that he had just received some bad news. Irleen even pulled away from the window, her position blinding her to Link's reaction.

"Thank you," Link finally said in an even voice. He folded the letter and slipped it back into its envelope. Then he turned as he slipped it into his pocket. Irleen, just about to ask what was going on, had to dodge out of the way as Link marched past her and out the door, forcing her to chase him before she became trapped in the office.

She saw him draw the flare gun and load a shell into it. "Link?" she asked.

FZZZZZZZzzzzzz! Irleen was startled by Link as he aimed the pistol over his head and fired it with much less care than he had shown before. Irleen looked up just as the trail of smoke burst into a soft, blue light just barely distinguishable from the late morning sky.

"Link, what's going on?" she asked in a more urgent tone while she watched him load a second shell.

"North has us," Link said just before firing the second blue flare into the air.

…

"'—To Captain Link of the Island Symphony,

"'—Your presence is required by request of Her Highness Princess Zelda of Hyrule. As you are no doubt aware, you are currently a wanted criminal due to stand trial for treason against the Royal Family. As a member of Her Highness's Royal Navy, I am under orders, along with three other vessels, to locate and arrest you on these charges in Her Highness's name or see to it that your vessel is destroyed. I am not unreasonable with my orders and would much prefer that the former of these two eventualities occur.

"'—I commend you on your ability to elude even my sight. Not knowing much beyond a vague description of you and your vessel has caused my crew much frustration, and I find myself believing that you have not been relying purely on luck. That said, you have made a grievous error in judgment, and the only way in which you may atone for it is with your surrender.

"'—As you read this letter, I have with me a person who has foolishly provided patronage to your activity. The young woman is a college student by the name of Lilly. Her capture appears to have been a feat of coincidence. Two of my airmen sighted her on Sagacity Island and found it suspicious that she suddenly appeared after having only been sighted on East Iron Island the evening before we left. Her interrogation has revealed important facts about you, your crew, and your vessel.

"'—I do not hold this young woman with malice. However, your lack of cooperation in this matter will result in her eventual transportation to Castle Island for trial on charges of conspiracy to commit treason, an offense punishable by death just as if the charge was treason itself. As I intend for this matter to be solved between us alone, I have sent the other vessels searching for you to the neighboring islands in case you decide to expose your cold heart to this young woman.

"'—My vessel awaits you on Tabletop Island. There, you, your second-in-command, and a third airman (by the young woman's request, this third airman has been named Airman Cale) will disembark and meet us in the old governor's mansion in the middle of the island. I will have no tricks pulled on me, Captain Link. Excepting those named above, your crew will remain with your ship while we negotiate your surrender. Any attempts to save the young woman will result in her premature and undoubtedly tragic execution. The use of any dock other than the area farthest south of the island will see your vessel blown out from beneath your feet. Do not approach my vessel, and do not sail over the island, as either act will result in an attack. I know that you will reach Might Island promptly. You have four days to appear on Tabletop Island. Fail to do so, and the young woman will suffer for your evil intentions.

"'—I do not like the circumstances of our meeting, nor do I take pleasure in the fact that your capture has necessitated interference in this young woman's life. But know that I will carry out my orders at the cost of my insubstantial discomfort.

"Signed 'Captain North, Her Royal Highness's vessel Moon's Shadow'." Link then set the letter down on his desk and glanced around his cabin. Cale had collapsed on his bed at the mention of Lilly's name, and Link could not help feeling sorry for him. He was sure that they had shared some personal moments with each other while she had been aboard. Irleen hovered over Cale as if to jump in if Cale reacted unexpectedly. Dholit leaned on the bedpost to Cale's left, arms crossed and a particularly irate look on her face. Gold stood between Link and the door, also with his arms crossed but with an uncomfortable expression aimed at the floor. Leynne leaned his thigh against the map table, arms crossed as well and with a frustrated glare aimed at Link.

He was the first to speak. "Faihly well-written foh a hostage takeh," he said, his sincerity colored by a touch of venom.

"I'd definitely call that some pre'y shi'y luck," Gold commented.

"This is indeed an upsetting situation," Dholit agreed. "I find myself ratheh appalled at this action. Not only is it a cheat to the situation, it is pahticulahly insulting to myself as a woman."

"I don't think Captain Nohth took heh gendeh into mind when they caught heh," Leynne commented. "Man oh woman, theh's a faihly even chance he would have taken them."

"A Gelto woman would die befoah making hehself a liability," she told him with such force that Link thought she would attack Leynne. The amount of passion she was showing made him all the more concerned. "This is just absuhd!"

"It's…" Attention turned to Cale as he bent over and grasped the sides of his head. "It's not faih. Why did it have to be Lilly?"

"Just take it easy, Cale," Irleen told him, settling onto his shoulder. "Link will do something. Right, Link?"

Link gave the letter a depressed look. Captain North had orchestrated probably the one thing that would give him pause in his need to evade capture. He had never considered the danger he might have been putting Lilly in, never thought that she would be tied to Link and the Island Symphony in any way. It must have been an astounding coincidence that North's airmen remembered her from the bar or that she just happened to be spotted by those two airmen from the bar, and on one of the largest islands in the kingdom. Cale was right, it was not fair. As he stared at the letter, he found himself becoming angrier. They were this far from restoring the Sky Lines. This far from removing the fake Zelda. Link crumpled the letter in his hands. Then he slammed it on the desk and stood up, startling the airmen around him. He spun and stepped over to the window. He looked beyond the frosted glass out to Tabletop Island, watching as Captain North's aged and battered form held Lilly from behind and stared at him in expectation of a stupid move. So this was what it was like to be North's target.

Some time was spent in silence as the present crew seemed to try to find an acceptable solution. Link nearly forgot that they were still in the room until Gold stepped up beside him. "Cap'n," he addressed him in a low voice. Link gave him a side-glance before focusing on the window again. Gold stood as if to block everyone else from seeing Link. "Thought yeh'd like tae 'ear it out loud… Yeh know yeh've got another option, right?" Link's eyes turned to him again, and he used his silence as a signal for Gold to keep talking. "There's the chance this 'Cap'n North' is bluffin'. Think 'bout it. It doesn't make sense. 'E knows the girl's got nothin' tae do with us, 'e's gotta. Would 'e really risk losin' us and 'avin' 'er executed just 'cause yeh don't buy this threat?"

"No!" Both Link and Gold were startled by Cale's outraged cry and turned to find him standing again. Irleen zipped away from him and over to Leynne. Link watched as Cale's fists shook. He had never seen the librarian angry before. But he realized the possibility as he continued, "You can't just sacrifice heh because you think it's a bluff! What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"Cale, just calm down," Leynne spoke up, his tone even and one hand held up as if to stop him.

But Link was in agreement with Cale. It was a risk he was not willing to take on the hunch that North was bluffing. He could remember stories of how North dealt with people and vessels being openly hostile to Skyriders, how those who would survive whatever carnage he decided to deal either spent the rest of their days locked in their homes or went insane and disappeared (often with the implications of taking what other airmen so gruesomely called the "Long Dive"). Why would a man with that kind of reputation bother trying to bluff Link into surrender when a genuine threat would have an effect more fitting with his known history?

"Look," Gold said, his tone calm as he intended to explain his reasoning to Cale. But that was as far as he spoke when Link quickly latched onto his bicep to stop him. Gold glanced down at him in confusion. "What is it, Cap'n?"

Link had come to a decision. It was the only decision he could make, the only one left to him. In a calm, almost hollow voice, he asked, "Leynne, did you arrange for supplies?"

Leynne and Dholit exchanged a glance before Leynne replied, "Yes, I had just paid foh them. We weh discussing delivery when we saw youh signal."

"Go finish the arrangements," Link told him. "Take Mister Gold with you." This prompted Leynne and Gold to exchange looks with each other. Link continued, "Once you get back, plot our course to Tabletop Island. We'll get underway as soon as you're done."

Leynne stood stunned for a moment, unsure how to react. "Yes, sih," he replied absently. He glanced around at the room's other occupants before he decided to exit. Gold followed him out and closed the door.

Link's eyes met Cale's. "Go on back to lookout, Cale," he said.

Cale cast his eyes to the floor, feeling a little ashamed of his outburst. "Yes, saah."

Dholit waited for Cale to shut the door. Then she glared at Link. "You've given up," she accused him in a low voice.

Link returned the glare. But his response was delayed as he tried to think of one. "I will not leave her. Bluff or not."

"That may be so," she said as he returned to his chair, "but ah you willing to sacrifice youh mission foh just one gihl? A gihl, may I add, that has only shown interest foh Cale and not you?"

"Butt out, Dholit," Irleen told her, flying angry circles above the map table. "This is Link's decision."

Link rested his elbows on the table, bowed his head, and gripped his hair between his fingers. "What's the point in trying to help people when it's just gonna hurt them?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"You can't save everyone," Dholit told him.

He released his hair and looked up at her, scowling until his brow hurt. "I won't have anyone else killed because of me," he told her. "Lilly's our friend. The Skyriders are my family. If you can find a solution to this without killing either of them, then find it. If you can't bear me doing it, then get off."

Dholit's face softened, and she raised her head slightly as if contemplating him. Then, with an exaggerated wave of one arm, she bowed to him. "Yes, My Captain." Link was waiting for her to return to her usual attitude. But she instead turned and left the cabin without so much as giving him a second look.

After a moment, Irleen told him, "She's right, you know. You can't save everyone."

"I know," Link replied, resting his head on the desk.

But he did not add that, if it came to the choice of sacrificing himself or someone he knew, he would slide the noose around his own neck if he had to. It was the only way he knew how to live. Captain Alfonzo had told him time and time again to be loyal to his friends.

Because you never know when one of them just might save your ass.