Chapter 105: Revelations Small and Big

…

The hours following the Island Symphony's departure saw a transition from late afternoon to the final moments of dusk before the ship switched to the final Sky Line to Autumn Island. Link had to tell Line to get some sleep and let Gold take the helm so that Line would be ready to go ashore. Link took a short nap himself, not wanting to sleep through sending out his crew to do something he really felt that he should do himself. He awoke not long before their arrival. The night crew was naturally on duty, but the day crew still wandered the deck. Even Lawrence and Helo were on-deck despite the fact that both of them appeared quite tired. Line and Leynne were in the boat deck going over the Conductor's controls since Line would be piloting the launch. Link could feel his crew's tension, and every passing light inside the opposing Sky Line was watched with special interest by the Gelto. This was a particularly amazing feat since Link could only spot a passing vessel after it was already beyond the stern. Perhaps the only one not being so observant was Layna, but that was because she would not leave Link's side even after he had both Dubbl and Dholit relay the order to leave him alone. Although, when he thought about it, Dholit's delighted reaction to the situation may have colored what she had told Layna.

Upon exiting the Sky Line and turning south to Autumn Island, the crew encountered a bit of bad news. In the light of the ships docked at the port on the east side, Flower reported at least three vessels bearing black banners. Link and Leynne decided to move to a secondary plan they had thought up before their arrival. Link ordered Gold to take the ship to the west side of the island. Because part of the island still sported some larger vegetation, including trees, they had decided that hiding the ship here would give them means to go back and forth as needed without the Skyriders being any wiser. The Island Symphony was tied up to a pair of trees with their improvised moorings anchored to the cargo hold doors on the port side. From there, Line, Leynne, Lawrence, and Gold ventured onto the island; while the original intention was to send Flower instead of Lawrence, Link decided at the last minute that he would serve better as a lookout in case things turned ugly. Lawrence, in an attempt to get off the ship for a bit, volunteered. The ship's lights were turned off to make sure no one noticed trees on the horizon glowing a strange color.

Link was not sure what to do with himself. The first fifteen minutes, he tried to relax in his cabin with his eyes watching the northern sky through frosted glass. He would have made a journal entry, but he feared turning on his cabin light. So he wandered out onto the deck and inspected whatever rigging he could see. He was vaguely aware of the crew watching him, including Layna acting like his shadow as he strode across the weather deck. Soon, he was just pacing back and forth on the main deck. It was not necessarily in a straight line because he eventually stumbled into Helo.

"Whoa!"

"Hmm?" Link backed away as he could feel the Goron's presence rise from the deck. "Captain, is everything all right?" Helo asked.

"Y-you know it's me?" Link asked.

"Yes. We Gorons have excellent vision in the dark. Useful for caves and mines, but just as useful in the middle of the night."

"Oh."

Helo gave a confused groan. "You seem restless. Is there anything I can do?"

"No, thank you," Link replied. He sighed. "I just… wish they would hurry back."

"Forgive me for pointing this out, sir, but it is a feeling that we all have experienced a number of times since we became your crew."

"Really?"

"Mm-hmm. You leave the ship frequently when we reach a port. It tends to cause quite a stir among your Hylian-speaking crew, although I imagine the Gelto are just as concerned."

Link scratched the back of his head. "I-I didn't realize I was causing that kinda problem…"

"No one expected that you had, Captain. But it is a relief to know that someone else has gone ashore in your stead."

"Is it?"

"Yes. And, if it isn't too much for me to say, I have won a bet because of it."

Link paused for a moment. "You… won a bet? What bet?"

"We in the engine room bet earlier today on the expected composition of the next party to disembark. Lidago believed that the whole deck crew would leave; after all, it nearly happened almost a month ago."

"Yeah. Yeah, that was kind of a nightmare."

"Lawrence believed that you would go alone. Harley bet that you would take two or three members of the deck crew. I decided to make the bet interesting by expecting you to send someone out instead of going yourself."

"Helo… I know this might sound like a dumb question, but… what did you guys bet with? I haven't been able to get any pay for you guys."

"The details were a little vague, but I believe that the winner was due a day to relax while someone from an opposing shift filled in." Link sucked in a breath and hoped that Helo could see the nervous look on his face. Although Helo gave no visual indication that he had taken in Link's reaction, he asked, "Should I assume that you do not want our current schedule altered?"

"I'd prefer it if you guys didn't do that sort of thing," Link admitted. "Including Sello, we only have five people working in the engine room. We really can't afford to have one person pull a full day and a half of duty; that'd be just too much."

"I see. It's just as well, Captain; I'd had the same consideration. Unfortunately, the terms of our bet were a little difficult to tease out, which was why the bet was such a high stake in the first place. I will inform the engine crew that we should not make such bets until we have a larger crew. As for my winning, I have no objections to forfeiting my free day."

Link let out a relieved sigh. "Thank you."

"But should further bets occur, would there be any sort of exchange that would not inconvenience you?"

"I don't know. Something mundane, I guess. Uh… maybe breakfast in bed? Or-or dinner, depending on the shift. Just as long as it doesn't affect the ship."

"Our problem returns, but I will make the suggestion of a meal after waking should another bet come up."

Link felt something nudge his back. "Helo, is Layna still behind me?"

"Layna? I do not believe so, Captain; she is maintaining vigil on you from the nearby mast."

"She is? Then who's…" Link trailed off when he heard sniggering from behind. Then the sniggering was muffled into a feminine laugh that he took a few moments to recognize.

Everyone on deck jumped in surprise when Link's shout rang out in the relative silence, "DHOLIT, WOULD YOU GET AWAY FROM ME?!"

"Nyaa~hah~," Dholit laughed as she skipped away.

Feeling a little shaken by Dholit's teasing, Link decided to try getting something to eat. He had only finished a miniscule portion of the ration pack he had opened when he realized that he was not very hungry. On his way back up to the weather deck, he wound up mentally berating himself for trying to duck away when his crew could be in danger. So his next step was to move onto the poop deck where both Flower and Twali were sharing the lookout position. In his anxiety, Link tried to engage Flower in small talk. Flower ended the conversation by pointing out that he barely had sight over the trees in front of them, meaning that the only way they could tell that Leynne and his party were in danger was by a flare. A few words later led both of them down into the boat deck with Biluf and Helo. They unleashed the Conductor for Link and Flower, and Link piloted the launch by just its ballast. With little light to reveal the Conductor, he raised the boat until Flower had sight of the port on the opposite side of the island. He was silent as he looked around with the duoscope for any sign of activity.

Then, when he spoke up, his voice caused Link to start. "Hey, Lieutenant."

"Yah!" Link cried out, shocked out of his drowsiness. He had sat on the deck earlier, his back resting against the inside of the bulwark. He looked up at Flower's form silhouetted in the stars. "What is it?"

"You're not gonna believe who's in port with us."

Confused and a little worried, Link stood up and glanced out at the port. Flower nudged him with the duoscope, and Link took it to get a better look. At first, he thought Flower was talking about the Skyrider ships docked on the other side, their black banners the only clear evidence of their presence at this distance.

"Just off the bow of that Skyrider brig," Flower told him. "See that galleon?"

"Hang on," Link replied, turning to find the galleon. He found another brig instead, flying a regular banner. But then he realized that there was one more brig further down and looked past its bow.

It was a galleon, just as Flower had said. It had three square-rigged masts and the appearance of a fully-rigged ship. Of course, being in port meant that its sails were stowed. He could barely see an outboard sail mounted near the bow. The scant light of the port made it hard to tell, but the ship's hull looked to have been painted white. Some kind of trim which shone in the light made it easy for Link to identify some of the ship's features. At first, Link wondered at the significance of this vessel, which did not bear a Skyrider banner but an identifying banner that he did not recognize.

Then it dawned on him. His eyes passed over the ship again from bow to stern. Even from this distance, Link could pick out places where he had stood on that vessel once before. The shrouds he had had to climb to the crow's nest. The helm which he had manned on a few occasions before receiving his own vessel. The mast which he had dislocated his shoulder against. The main deck, over which he had been hung for the rather idiotically-named "Dodge-Link".

"The… Is that the Grand Sails?" Link asked, awestruck and already knowing the answer.

"If she isn't, she looks damn close to it," Flower answered. "If the banner's any indication, she's hiding right under the Skyriders' noses. Or they've captured her."

Link shook his head before returning his eyes to the duoscope. "I don't see anyone wearing black. They must be hiding because no one's wearing blue either; it all looks casual."

"Must be good cover then."

"We need to find Captain Alfonzo."

Flower was silent for a moment. "Lieutenant, I know you don't have the same standards as other ship commanders, so I have no compunctions about asking you if you're out of your mind."

Link sighed. "I was just thinking… an armed airship might help us make it to Castle Island. It isn't like we couldn't dress her up as one of the navy ships. With the Grand Sails and the Summer Breeze escorting us, we could easily pull into the castle's docks without anyone thinking twice about it."

"That, and you wanna see the captain again, don't you?"

Link turned and attempted to glare at Flower. "So what if I do?"

"Lieutenant, it'd be easier to send me. I know Captain Alfonzo, too, and I won't attract as much attention if I go out in public."

Link pointed down. "These are special boots I found on the surface. They help me run faster than ever, so if I get into trouble, I can be out of sight in a heartbeat. Besides, even if I do get found, Layna will be there to save me. She's always following me."

"Layna… that's the… that's the assassin, right? The one that nearly took Line's head off?"

"Yeah."

Flower sighed. "I don't like it, Lieutenant. I really don't. You're the boss here, I get that, but you really shouldn't be risking your life by stepping off the ship."

"I've been doing it for a while, Flower. I try to do everything I can for this crew, even if it means risking my life. I'm not afraid."

"Anyone else your age would be," Flower told him as Link stepped back into the pilot's station.

…

Flower was still objecting even after Link put on his usual gear (equipping himself with his regular sword instead of the Lokomo Sword) along with the ragged robes he had worn on East Iron Island and disembarked. Link was still listening to him even after he had left, and he admitted that Flower was right that Link should let him go instead. He spent part of the walk to the town justifying it to himself so he could offer a good reason to Flower when he got back. Nothing had come to mind by the time he reached the edge of town, so he decided to wait and see what happened. If he was lucky, his presence might offer an opportunity that Flower's presence could not replicate.

He took mostly narrow roads and back alleys across the town, hoping that he would be above scrutiny as long as there were few people around to notice him. He did not see any of his crew around, although he had already assumed that they would be using the main roads. Skyriders occasionally rounded a corner or two, but Link had decided to leave his hood and hat off so that people had a good look at his face. This meant that, after looking at Link's face, the Skyriders merely dismissed him and went about their business. It did not seem too crazy to Link; walking through the back roads as he was, he found that a lot of people were wrapped in similar robes while they huddled against buildings. He was not sure why they were doing this, but he did not bother questioning it since it gave him some type of cover.

He arrived at the port after a while. He decided he wanted to be cautious and as out of sight as possible here due to the fact that, if someone did happen to suspect him, he could be detained quite easily. So he snuck around behind different features of the docks. He ducked behind crates and underneath carriages and only moved when he was sure that there was no one in sight.

He felt a wave of nostalgia when he ducked into a pile of crates opposite the galleon. Even from this distance, he could tell for certain that it was the Grand Sails. One thing he did not remember about the ship was the three panels of bare wood on the port side. He remembered Luke telling him that he had last heard that the Grand Sails was being pursued by another Skyrider ship and that the pursuing ship had opened fire on them. It seemed as if the Grand Sails had fared well, although he wondered why they would dare to hide this close to Castle Island.

"Hey, Chief." Link immediately ducked back into the crates at the sound of a man's voice so close by that he thought he might have been discovered. "You got a match on you?"

"Yeah, here you go." A second voice. And they sounded like they were on the other side of the crates. "Can you spare some of that plant you're smoking?" Link recognized the second man's voice after that second statement. Chief Mallard had become one of Alfonzo's chiefs-of-the-deck not too long before Link had gotten his own promotion. He had a graveled voice, and, despite that, he had probably been one of the nicest guys to ever have to put up with Line's shenanigans, second only to Luke.

"Sure, Chief." There was a pause as Link assumed the other airman gave over some of his tobacco to Mallard. "Any word yet?"

"I was about to go relieve Blair," Mallard replied. Link scrunched his face as he tried to remember the name. If he was right, Blair was Alfonzo's newest second-in-command, brought in to replace Lieutenant Greg after Greg decided that he had spent enough time on an airship. Link had yet to meet the man himself; he had been expecting to encounter him the next time he had sailed out with the Grand Sails. "All I know is the captain was up and talking early this morning. Might be getting better by now."

Up and talking? Might be getting better? Those did not sound like some very encouraging words. And, if they were talking about a captain, it would certainly have to be Alfonzo. What had happened since Link had been gone?

"I'd feel better once we're outta here. Two more ships sailed by this evening; that's what Awan saw on lookout. Whatever the others are doing, they're putting some serious air power into it. If they're still looking for us, they sure are going the wrong way."

The men paused, and Link could hear one of them shifting. "I'd keep the sentiment to yourself as best you can if I were you," Mallard said. "You never know when one of these black-clad bastards is listening."

"Sorry, Chief."

Mallard's voice became a little muffled, presumably because he was holding his tobacco pipe between his teeth. "Hey, I don't blame you. I don't like being stuck here any longer than we need. But it's the only thing we can do for the captain now. With his health as bad as it is now, we'd lose him if we tried going anywhere. Not that there's anywhere for us to go as it is…"

"Aye… Look, Chief. Some of the other guys've been talking. Much as we like the captain and all—"

"Mister, I'm going to forget that you even tried saying that."

"Chief, it's been over a month."

Mallard's voice became hostile as he said, "If you're gonna tuck your balls up your ass, then do what George and Wes did and just desert. The ship isn't yours or your buddies' to take, and that's final." Link heard a pair of clicks, which he took to be Mallard checking his pocketwatch. "I'm just about late for my watch. Like I said, I'm gonna forget this whole mutiny idea of yours. There hasn't been a mutiny on this ship for decades, and it sure as hell isn't gonna start here just because you're afraid of your own coworkers. Is that understood, Mister?"

The airman took in a deep breath and begrudgingly replied, "Aye, sir."

"Just do your job. Let us worry about the captain."

Link heard boots leaving and quickly popped up from behind the crates to see what was happening. While one person was walking back to the Grand Sails, he spotted Mallard walking toward the alley Link had come from earlier. He only knew the back of Mallard's head from the times he tried to walk away after stopping Link and Line from doing something stupid. There was no mistaking that head sporting short, blond fuzz. Link had to follow him, but he was not sure how to.

He looked around and spotted a small shack on the outside of one of the warehouses. He immediately thought back to Skyrider Port when Line had dared him to jump onto the Conductor. His mind buzzing with an idea, he moved over to the shack and tried to jump up.

Now that he was aware of it, he could feel a definite surge of power flood his legs just before he left the ground. His jump took him past the shack's roof and halfway up the side of the warehouse before he came back down. He held his arms out to stop himself from slamming into the warehouse's outer wall. His feet felt soft against the shack's tin roof, and landing on it barely produced much sound. He turned to look down at the ground, trying to find anyone who might have seen or heard him do that. Then he looked up at the warehouse. He only took a moment to think before he leapt up again.

He caught sight of a shadow scrambling out of the way after he passed over the warehouse's roof. Its presence had distracted him, and his legs collapsed once he made contact with the flat roof. He fell forward and just barely managed to save his head from bouncing against the rough surface with his hands. A hand hooked under his arm, and he found himself being pulled to his feet.

"May Kyabtin?"

Link blinked in surprise at the person who had helped him up. "Layna?" he asked. She nodded. He glanced around the roof. "So this is how you get around." This, as usual, prompted her to give him a confused tilt of the head. "Uh… never mind. Oh, shoot, Mallard!" Link quickly turned and stepped to the edge of the roof. Layna immediately reached from behind and forced him down to one knee. "Ah! What?"

"May Kyabtin, waba nayx yimidhujak sazagsiylw zhaybu," she told him in a low voice.

Link gave an exasperated sigh. "Right, sorry I asked." He glanced down into the alley. Then he tried to signal to Layna that he wanted to follow Mallard by pointing to his eyes and then pointing to Mallard's back. Layna peered over the side. Then she nodded and indicated the roof of the warehouse next to Mallard with a hand.

Before Link could fully comprehend her intentions, she took a running start from where she stood and jumped. Link was amazed to see her fly through the air before landing on the roof of the other warehouse. He did not know how she had done that, but he figured that he could do the same. So he stood up and took off at a run. His boots suddenly sped his feet up, and the edge of the warehouse roof came at him fast. He barely had time to think about the jump before he remembered that he had to. Again, he felt the surge of power in his legs, and he sailed over the gap between the warehouses and even over Layna's head. He was not prepared for this leap as he had thought, and his legs collapsed after he landed again. He rolled across the roof for a moment before coming to a stop on his back. He stared up at the stars for a moment while his head spun. Layna leaned into his vision for a moment. Link was not sure because of the darkness and his disorientation, but he thought he saw her giving him a small smile.

After Link recovered, Layna led him from rooftop to rooftop. Her pace was slow, probably due to the fact that Link had failed two more landings and, at one point, would have nearly rolled off a slanted roof if she had not caught him. Still, they kept up with Mallard and never lost sight of him. Link began to understand how it was that Layna could move around so well without being spotted: nobody looked up. All this time, Link had assumed that Layna was just that good at keeping out of sight. Which she was, of course, but Link had never considered that it was because she hid on anything higher than everyone else.

Mallard finally halted behind a clinic on one of the main streets through the middle of the island. Link and Layna watched from the roof of a blacksmith's shop behind the clinic as he looked left and right for anyone following him. Link was surprised by how secretive he was being, but then he remembered that he was probably trying to keep the other Skyriders from discovering Captain Alfonzo. So it would make sense that he would enter the clinic from the back instead of the front; if the Skyriders noticed him coming and going through the front, they might decide to see who was receiving these frequent visits. He disappeared into the back door. Link glanced around before deciding to drop down from the roof. His landing was as soft as any time he landed from a jump, but he still stumbled from the distance and from how sore his legs were beginning to feel. Just like Mallard, he looked up and down the alley before opening the door and stepping inside. He closed the door as quietly as possible.

On the other side were a few elderly women hand-washing bedding and surgical gowns in a small room. They all had their backs to Link, so Link tip-toed across the room to the door on the other side. This brought him to a small hallway with doors lining either side. He walked down the hallway with little more than a confused glance in his direction from orderlies and nurses passing back and forth between doors. He found another hallway to the left and just barely caught a glance of Mallard's back before Mallard disappeared into a doorway. Link followed until he was just outside. He heard voices from within and pressed up against the wall so he could listen.

"Yeah, okay," Mallard was just telling someone. "Thank you, Miss." Link quickly spun and pressed his back against the wall to make it look like he was just loitering. The nurse exiting the room glanced at him and dismissed him as she hustled down the hallway. "Hey, Lieutenant," Mallard said. "Wake up."

Someone on the other side of the wall snorted. "Huh? Wha?" a deeper, more grizzled voice asked.

"Shift's up."

"Oh," the lieutenant (which Link assumed to be Blair) replied. "It that time already?"

"I'm a little late."

Blair let out a yawn. "Aaaall right," he said before he could finish yawning. "All right."

"How's the captain?"

"Doctor says it's still the same thing. He just won't let himself get better. He was talking a little more today, but it wasn't anything he hadn't already told us. Just asked about the ship and the crew and if we'd been found yet. Told us to dig into the ship's bank again."

"That bank is nearly dry. And I don't mind telling you the crew's getting antsy. Two more guys deserted today. I just got done talking to Ross. He says some of the other guys are thinking about taking off with the ship."

Blair heaved a deep sigh. "That's the last thing we need to worry about, mutiny…"

"I told him I was gonna forget he said anything, but this is beginning to worry me, sir."

"Well, I can't say I blame them. With as long as we've been here waiting for the captain to get better, I'm surprised they're just now thinking about it."

"Uh… you think we should be talking about this in front of him?"

"The nurse gave him a tranquilizer so he could sleep. He'll be out until morning. For now, we think positive. He was talking to us earlier, so he must be getting some strength back. That's what we'll let the crew know."

"We've been positive about this as much as we could. I'm worried that the crew'll start seeing through all the fluff and realize we're just talking."

"We've got nothing else."

Link took in a deep breath and stepped into the doorway. He found that Mallard was talking to a man with thick, black hair and stubble across his face indicating that he had been without a razor for some time. "Excuse me," he spoke up.

Both men looked in his direction. "Can we help you, kid?" the black-haired man, Blair, asked.

But Mallard's eyes became wide upon seeing who had just stepped in. "You've gotta—… Link!?" he managed to ask through his surprise.

"Yeah," Link replied with a nod.

"You know this kid?" Blair asked.

"Yeah, I do," Mallard said as he stepped toward Link. He slapped a hand on Link's shoulder and turned back to Blair. "This is Lieutenant Link. He used to be an airman on the Grand Sails before he got promoted. Went straight into command. Probably the youngest in the fleet." Then he turned back to Link. "We heard you'd been shot down. How'd you get here?"

"You heard?" Link asked. "From who?"

"Captain Alfonzo," Mallard said. "He got a letter from Airman Flower over a month ago and told some of us about it."

"Oh. Well, I… I kinda did, actually."

"What, did you just flap your arms back up here?" Mallard asked with a large grin.

Link gave a weak chuckle. "It wasn't that easy," he answered. "I heard the captain was sick. What's wrong with him?"

"Sepsis."

Link frowned. "Sepsis? What's that?"

"It's an infection that's gotten to his whole body, Link. He came down with it not long before we brought him here. It started when he took some splinter shrapnel from cannon fire to the gut. He didn't tell anyone about it until the next day."

"That's right," Link said. "You were attacked; Luke told me."

"Luke?" Blair asked. "Who's Luke?"

"Captain Luke," Link told him. "He was Captain Alfonzo's second-in-command when Line and I first became part of the crew."

"How'd he know?" Mallard asked.

"He's…" Link hesitated for a moment. "He commands one of the ships that the princess drafted. But he's a good man; he respects Alfonzo more than anyone else. He was worried when you guys were attacked. It was the last thing he had heard." He glanced around the small room. "Where is the captain?"

"I'm back here." At the same time the deep, sickly voice spoke up, a curtain behind Blair shifted. "Someon—hhk!" The voice fell into a coughing fit. Both Blair and Mallard gave the curtain a concerned look. "… Get this… damned curtain outta my way."

Blair tugged back on the curtain, revealing the head of a bed. Link was surprised to see Captain Alfonzo, especially since his beard had been shaved off. He recognized the way the captain's brow wrinkled, though, and he could see that the captain was still bald on the top of his head. Link immediately snapped to attention and saluted. But he still had an air of relief in his voice as he said, "Captain."

Alfonzo let out a long breath and nearly started another fit of coughs. But he saved himself, too shocked at the sight of Link to cough. "Goddesses Above…" he said under his breath. "It really is…"

Mallard placed a hand on Link's shoulder and shook him. "The kid came back to us, Captain," he told Alfonzo.

Alfonzo held up a hand. "C'mere, Link," he said. Link dropped his salute and stepped up to the side of the bed. Alfonzo looked past him. "Blair, Mallard. Give us a moment."

Mallard and Blair exchanged looks before both chimed, "Aye, sir." They stepped out without another word.

Alfonzo pointed at the edge of the bed. "Link, there should b—" He was cut off by a cough. "There should be a box or something under the bed. Go ahead and sit down."

Link leaned over and found a small, wooden crate under the bed. He pulled it out and sat on it. This left him sitting almost eye-level with Alfonzo. "How are you doing, sir?" he asked.

"You're supposed to be dead, Link," Alfonzo told him, wearing his usual frown. "I'm a picture of health."

Link looked down at his lap. "I… I lost the Island Sonata, sir. I was shot down by a ship inside the Undying Storm."

"If that's true, Lieutenant, you forgot to die."

"Yes, sir." He took in a breath. "I survived the crash with the ground, but I was severely injured. A lumberjack passing the wreck took me in, and he and his daughter helped me recover. It took over a week; there were some… complications."

"How did you get back up here?"

"I found out that the descendents of the original Architects were still wandering around the surface. They built a new airship for me and helped me raise it. Three of them are part of my current crew." Alfonzo silently nodded at him. "Captain… I'm sorry that you were attacked."

"It's not like you had a hand in it, Link."

Link shook his head. "No. I did. When I got back, I tried to get into the castle because I'd heard that the princess had returned. I found out she was a fake, and Sir Gilliam had to spring me out of trouble. But… he told me that, if she questioned him, he had to explain that I was a captain for the Skyriders and that you were my only connection to them."

"Oh. I take that back then, Lieutenant. Better be thankful I'm laid out; I've got mind to flatten you right here."

Link raised his head. "I can make it right, sir. I can get her out of the castle. Right now, the…" Link trailed off and looked over his shoulder. Then he leaned forward and continued in a lower voice, "The king and queen are at the Port. They can remove her from the throne, and the king agreed to do that if I can bring back medicine for the queen. Without the throne, the fake princess can be exposed. And the Skyriders can go back to normal again."

Alfonzo was silent for a moment. "You have it all planned out, don't you?"

"Just… one more thing, sir." Link took in a breath. "The fleet is looking for my ship, too. But… I think, if we could set the Grand Sails up to look like one of the navy ships… we might be able to get in. But… if you're ill…"

"Link. A ship can work without her captain for at least a little while. That's what a second-in-command is for. Blair will help you, and Mallard has your back, too. If the crew doesn't see open skies again, we can only lose more."

"What about you?"

"What about me? I've had my ass glued to this bed for over a month, Link. I don't intend on going anywhere. After you get done, just come back and get me. And I'll tell you what. The next time you see me, I'm gonna be standing on that dock ready to kick and scream my orders beat any other captain."

Link hesitated before nodding. "Aye, sir."

Link made to stand, but Alfonzo held up a hand. "Just a minute, Link."

"Sir?"

"Sit down. We're not done yet." Link sat back down. "Link… didn't you ever wonder why you were suddenly given command of an airship? Despite your age?"

"Uh… well, at first," Link admitted. "After that, well… I just… kinda went with it. I… didn't really know what else to do." Something clicked in his head, and he asked, "Should… I not be in command?"

"No, Link, the whole promotion was genuine. And difficult. You wouldn't believe the number of loopholes I had to go through to see to it that you became a lieutenant. And the fact that you seem to have made it so far as a captain, well… It's good to see that all that training paid off."

Link paused as he tried to make sense of what Alfonzo was talking about. "What training, sir?"

"Do you think I would just promote you out of the blue, Link? Once you were on the Grand Sails, I started teaching you everything you needed to know about command. I showed you how a captain monitors what a crew does. I had you fill out paperwork that older men than you still can't figure out. And I had you take on leadership roles with airmen easily twice your age. When you turned fourteen, I started the process of getting you promoted."

Link just stared at him for a moment, unsure of how he should respond. He did not recall that Alfonzo had taught him things like that. The paperwork, he could remember. But monitoring the crew? Commanding people older than him? He had no such recollections. But then he reminded himself of his current crew, how, despite him being only fourteen, they listened to his orders and never threatened insubordination on any occasion (with the possible exception of what had happened on Tabletop Island). And he knew most of his crew, how they behaved, and how they responded to each other. Link managed to accept that he had been taught things that he might not remember and asked, "Why, sir?"

Alfonzo broke into a smile that quickly turned into a look of nostalgia. "Maybe… for just that one single moment. When you walked across that throne room and received your tunic from the princess. It's that sort of thing I'd spent fourteen years waiting for, Link. The kind of thing a father can be proud of."

One word hit Link with such a shock that he could not be sure he had heard it. His mystified stare prompted Alfonzo to smile brighter at him, something that the captain had never done before. Link finally managed to stutter, "Wh-wh-wha-what?"

Alfonzo jerked as he tried to hold back his chuckling. "You're my son, Link."