Chapter 115: Evacuation

…

The warehouse had probably seen more cargo than airship captains in its lifetime, but it did not help Link get over how many of them had gathered in just half an hour. He did not recognize any of them, mostly because none of them were fellow Skyrider captains. Zephyr Sails here, Fair Travelers there, maybe a few independent vessels scattered about. It made Link realize that his status as a Skyrider might be better off kept secret for the time being.

In the half hour it had taken for Line and Flower to spread the word down the docks, Leynne and Gold had put together a plan to make sure that Center Island was evacuated as quickly and orderly as possible. Gold had explained that, as a seaman, he had seen the Goddess's Tides evacuate a couple of large islands on the surface due to some type of disaster. This had been done by gathering ships and putting together a lottery system. As the ships had been filled, they had departed so that the next vessel could dock and continue the evacuation. As for Leynne, he explained to Link that they should remove the population to Skyrider Port, as it was the closest island with the capacity for refugees. Bold Island could not be used due to the island's resources still not having recovered from the blockade and the problem with the technoworks. Any other island would be too far away. Link had agreed with both of them.

Currently, Link and Line were standing on a crate overlooking the group while Irleen hovered overhead. Link could not tell who was a captain and who was just an airman. Maybe all of them were airmen, sent in their captains' place because they could not be bothered with wild stories about the Undying Storm heading straight for Center Island. Link shook his head at the thought. He may not have known these captains, but he should have known better than to doubt people that just showed up to help. Still, he remembered the discussion he had had with Luke on West Iron Island. He had not been able to convince Luke that he had been restoring the Sky Lines. How should he convince a room full of adults that Center Island was in immediate danger?

"Link!" Link was jarred out of his thoughts when Leynne called his name from across the floor. Leynne pushed through the captains until they finally parted for him. He stepped up to the crate and looked down at a paper covered in scribbling. "I have the infohmation," he told Link. "This is going to be quite the undehtaking."

"Information?" Line asked.

"Census infohmation and figuhs concehning how we'h going to move the population," Leynne explained.

"What do you have?" Link asked.

"Centeh Island spohts a population oooof… oveh sixty thousand people," Leynne said.

"Sixty thousand?" Line asked. "Is… that a lot?"

"The last time I saw an account of the Grand Sails crew," Link said, "we had just a little more than a hundred fifty airmen. So, yeah." He sighed. "That's a lot."

"I've figuhed that, with the average adult weight and an average comparison of ships of different capacities, at best, we can fit about five hundred people peh ship," Leynne continued. He took in a deep breath and sighed it out. "Which means that we will need oveh one hundred and twenty ships."

"Wow," Irleen commented in a flat tone.

"You gotta be kidding," Line said. He indicated the group of captains. "We're lucky if we have twenty here."

"Which means that, if we'h to follow through with this plan," Leynne said, "we will need ships of great capacity. It should cut down the numbeh we need. But we'll have to huhry. Theh's no telling how fah the stohm is from the island."

"You're on, Link," Line said, slapping Link on the back.

"Wait, why me?" Link asked.

"I don't like public speaking," Leynne said. "Recluse, remembeh?"

Link looked at Line. Line held his hands up in innocence. "Hey, you don't actually think you can trust me with this, do you?" he asked.

Link glanced out at the loud crowd. No one appeared to be looking in his direction, so he raised his hands and hollered over them as best as he could, "Excuse me! Excuse me! People!"

"Excuse me!" Leynne called out with his hands cupped around his mouth. "Can we have some attention, please?!"

"Hey, assholes!" Line shouted. "Hey! Shut up for a minute!" He paused. "Your mothers swing on a stay!" This earned him an annoyed glare from Link. He shrugged as if he had done nothing wrong and asked, "What?"

A high-pitched whistle from above Link pierced the room, surprising the Island Symphony's present crew and calling the warehouse's attention to them. Link and Line, closest to the sound, stood back up and looked to Irleen. Line smiled at her. "Wow, Irleen!" he said, only moments away from laughing. "That was a good one."

"Thanks," Irleen replied, her voice sounding a little unsteady. "I'm… gonna go over here for a moment. That made my head hurt."

"You have the flooh," Leynne said, unable to suppress his own grin.

Link looked up to find dozens upon dozens of eyes on him. His voice ceased for a moment, leaving him with his mouth open and feeling stupid. "Ah," he finally managed, which seemed to be what he needed because he was able to continue from there. "I-I hope you've been informed of why you were all called here."

"Yeah!" someone near the front shouted. "Something about the Undying Storm?"

"I heard something to do with Center Island!" another shouted.

"I thought it was Castle Island!" yet another called out.

"What's the kid up there saying!?" someone from the back shouted. "I can't hear him!"

"How much did you relay to these people?" Leynne asked Line.

"Hey—I just spread the word through my friends," Line said, raising his hands again.

"What'd he say?!" someone nearby hollered.

"Okay, just settle down a moment!" Link called out before the noise could rise again. "Okay, I guess some things have been left out. Earlier this evening, we found out that the Undying Storm is slowly approaching Center Island."

"Is this some kinda joke?!" one person shouted.

Another yelled, "Don't waste our time, kid!"

"I still can't hear!"

"Freebird!"

"This is a waste of time," Link heard one man at the front say.

"It's not a waste of time!" Link snapped. This caused a number of men to jerk their heads back in his direction. "The Undying Storm is following the Sky Line straight to Center Island! It's already devastated Autumn Island, and we can't let that happen again!"

"Just what proof do you have of this?" someone on the right asked.

Both Leynne and Line cast worried looks at Link. Link clenched his fists until the leather of his gloves groaned. Leynne turned to answer.

"None!" Link shouted.

There was a pause before someone shouted back, "None?"

"That's right, none!" Link hollered with anger building in his voice. "What do you expect me to bring, a pictograph!? Don't any of you pay attention to the newspapers!? Are you telling me the Undying Storm can move all over the realm, and not one of you can tell?!"

"Link…" Line started, placing a hand on Link's shoulder.

Link promptly threw it off. "No!" he shouted. "People died on Autumn Island! The whole island's on fire! Did no one see the airships fleeing?! Didn't anyone see a large fleet heading for Skyrider Port!?"

Hushed voiced passed among the captains. One man, who did not appear interested in chatting with anyone, stepped forward out of the group. "I did," he declared in a deep, booming voice that echoed throughout the warehouse. "Damnedest thing, too. I didn't see which ships they were, but I saw Skyriders, I saw Zephyr Sails, Fair Travelers, independents… If I'd thought about it, I'd have said that there's something wrong if you've got those knuckleheads cooperating with each other." He turned around. "Makes me wonder now if this boy just might be telling the truth. Even if he ain't, I wouldn't mind looking into it."

"This boy you so flippantly address is a fellow aihship captain," Leynne told him, prompting him to turn back around. "Ah you saying that his wohd has no merit among you?"

"Sir, you are talking to a room full of men who wouldn't give each other a mug of grog if they were drowning," the unnamed captain told him. Then he grinned. "So tie us with weights so we ain't drowning. And tell us why we should listen to this."

"Because it's the truth!" Link snapped. "And because more people are gonna die if none of you move!"

"Even if there was a threat to the island," another captain, this one a lanky man standing at the front, said as he stepped forward, "what are you expecting us to do?"

"Lend youh vessels to a massive evacuation of the local population," Leynne replied.

"What!?" someone at the back snapped.

"Are you kidding?!" another shouted.

"There must be tens of thousands of people on that island!" the lanky captain cried out in disbelief.

"Sixty-one thousand, nine hundred and thihty-two people," Leynne said with a cold tone. "Of couhse, that's only accohding to the last census taken of the island. Who knows how many souls ah on the line, anyway?" The revelation caused uncomfortable looks to float around the room. Leynne stared down the lanky captain until the captain finally looked away.

"What's your plan, then?" the gruff captain from before asked, an amused smirk on his face and his arms crossed as if challenging Link and his crew to a fight.

"We take every ship we can get to Center Island," Link said, "take the population aboard, and take them to safety at Skyrider Port."

"How's that?" the captain asked.

"Skyrider Port?" one other captain spoke up, his voice nearing outrage. "We're gonna hand a bunch of refugees to those assholes?" Link's eyes passed over the closer faces, looking for the person who had said that.

"Oh, well then," Leynne spoke up. "By all means, let's bring them heh." He indicated the gruff captain. "Tell me: what did you dine on last night?"

"They're right," someone from the crowd spoke in an even, rational voice. "The people of Bold Island are barely getting by as it is; we'd condemn even more people to starvation. We couldn't even import the supplies fast enough to keep up with more needs."

"Meanwhile," Leynne said. "As we speak, anotheh aihship is on its way to Castle Island to request provisions to be sent to Skyrideh Poht to account foh the refugees relocated theh from Autumn Island. It may be a stretch, but Skyrideh Poht's use of supplies and food has been stagnant since the matteh of the Skyridehs arose."

"What'd he say?" one man asked loudly.

"What the hell is that accent?" another shouted across the floor. Link heard Leynne mumble something to himself, and he was sure there was an obscenity in his words.

"How many people do you expect to put on each ship?" the gruff captain asked.

"Ouh best estimates indicate no moh than five hundred people average peh ship," Leynne said. "That would requih oveh one hundred vessels. One hundred and twenty, at the very least."

"Are you kidding?" one of the men behind the gruff captain asked. "Bold Island couldn't even provide docking for that many ships."

"That's why we'h hoping that those captains with lahge vessels would be the fohmost to volunteeh," Leynne explained.

"We have a plan," Link said. "We need ships."

A moment of silence passed while the captains wondered if anyone would volunteer. For a moment, Link was sure they were going to back down. He was wondering how long it would take for Dholit to torture enough of them to get the ships they needed.

Then the gruff captain took a step forward. "What's your name, boy?" he asked.

Link solidified his stance and threw his chest out. "Captain Link of the Island Symphony," he replied in a firm voice.

"Well, Captain, you don't promise much," he said. Then he put on a large, toothy smile. "But you look like you at least got balls, and that's gotta be tough for a young captain. I'm Captain Albert of the Gold Horizon. And I can take a thousand men if that's what needs to be done."

Link blinked at him in surprise. Did… he really just get a volunteer? And… did he just say his name was Albert? How in the world had he met someone with the same name as his dead airman again?

The lanky captain from before stepped forward next. "I'm Captain Grey of the Winter Winds," he told them with an air of pride. He indicated Captain Albert. "And if this horse-faced, fat-headed son of a bitch tells you he can carry a thousand men, then I can take eleven hundred."

Link, Line, and Leynne stood in amazed silence as each captain in the room stepped forward and introduced himself, getting louder (and more prideful; Link had some serious doubts that one of the later ones he could hear could actually manage a crew and ten thousand passengers) the further back they stood.

Then the final man to holler out raised a hand. "I'm Spartacus!" he shouted in a throaty voice.

"Hey, isn't that—" Line started to say as he pointed to the last man.

"Go get him and drag him back to the ship," Link told him, one hand covering his eyes. Line nodded and jumped down from the crate so he could make a mad dash for Sello.

…

~~We found out earlier today that the Undying Storm is heading straight for Center Island. I don't know what Leonard expected when he sent his letter to Flower and Line, but he's getting 65 airships to take the population and run them to the Port. I hope it's enough. Leynne says that he was amazed that so many people were willing to put their lives on the line, especially considering that they didn't believe us. Still, that's barely half the ships Leynne said we would need. I hope we can pack over 60,000 people the right way. If that's possible.

…

The Island Symphony and the first wave of available vessels dropped out of the Sky Line near Center Island to discover that almost the entirety of the western sky was dominated by the Undying Storm. There was no sun to brighten the black cloud of the storm, completely concealed by the dark before it. The sky was in the waning moments of sunset, dying whatever sky that was visible a deep navy blue with just a few stars visible to the east. The docks on the island appeared a little crowded. Only two ships were docked, and they appeared to be taking on as many passengers as possible, practically allowing the residents of Center Island to overflow the weather decks of both ships.

Link directed Gold to approach the east-most pier so that they could tie up there. It was a strategy to keep the Island Symphony from being immediately overwhelmed; the people on the island should have been more concerned with boarding the other two ships while the group from Bold Island docked. It was not entirely successful because, as the dockers tied them up, some of the people moved to swarm the Island Symphony. Leynne, using an unspoken contingency plan, loaded a blue flare into his flare gun and fired onto the dock, causing the people approaching to come to a standstill.

Link gave him an annoyed look after witnessing the action. "I really wish you hadn't done that," he told Leynne.

"I was trying to be cahful," Leynne replied. "We'h still following the plan."

"Just the part you didn't tell me about."

"Theh will be plenty of time to stampede us lateh," Leynne replied. He turned to Gold and Flower. "Ah you ready?"

"Aye," Gold said while Flower nodded. Both of them gave the small crates under their arms a small shake.

"Remembeh," Leynne said. "One peh family. Othehwise, the vessels of the fihst wave could become swahmed, and then we'll have a new set of problems."

"Aye, Boss," Flower said while Gold replied, "Aye aye."

Link waited a minute for Gold and Flower to get down to the main deck before turning to Leynne. "Leynne, would you take over here? I wanna go ashore."

"Everything all right, Link?" Leynne asked.

"I'd just… prefer to be down there instead of waiting around up here."

Leynne nodded. "Yes, I'll watch the ship."

"Thanks," Link got out before jogging across the deck to catch up to Gold and Flower.

Nothing was said between them as they walked the boarding plank down. The crowd was still holding back behind the flare Leynne had fired, but one figure jogged toward them after fighting through. "Flower!" the figure called out.

"Leonard!" Flower hollered back. Link glanced around to see that Airman Leonard, having adapted to his life away from the company, sported a thick, blond beard and wore a button-down, green shirt with black slacks.

"I was a little worried," Leonard said. "I couldn't tell if you'd got my letter or not."

"We got it," Link spoke up as he stepped into the open a little more. "And we're here to help."

Leonard glanced over to see who was addressing him. Then he looked again when he realized who was addressing him. "L-L-L-Li-Lieutenant Link?!" he asked, eyes wide with surprise.

"Actually, we've just been calling him 'Captain'," Flower said.

"Only name I know 'im by," Gold commented as he used a pocketknife to pry one of the boards off the side of his crate.

"But… but we saw the Island Sonata go down," Leonard said. "We just about killed ourselves to get revenge for you!"

"Look, it's a long story," Link said, raising a hand to stop him. "I'll explain it all later."

"We've got sixty-five airships coming in to evacuate the island," Flower told Leonard, turning to indicate the ships moving to dock. "And we've got a little system so the ships don't get swarmed."

"Yeah?" Leonard asked. "What's that?"

"A lottery. Every family gets one…" He paused to pull a toothpick out of Gold's box. "… gets one toothpick. They're all colored. Green goes with the first wave, blue with the second, red with the third. Each ship will have a matching flag on their hoists."

Leonard turned to glance down the dock. "Well, it's a lot better than what we have now," he commented. "These people have been ready to kill since this afternoon."

"You start spreading the word, we'll start spreading the lots," Flower told him.

"Right," Leonard said. "I'll let the mayor's staff know; they've been maintaining whatever peace we've had here."

"Oi, Flower," Gold said. He indicated an area near one of the warehouses. "Let's set up on those crates."

"Sounds good," Flower said. As they moved to the crates, he asked, "So, you've done this before."

"Aye, a few times," Gold replied. "Some o' the islands on the surface, they 'ave wildfires now and 'gain. Last one was… 'bout a year ago, maybe more."

"Did you use dyed toothpicks for lots then, too?" Flower asked with a grin.

"One time, we 'ad tae use coal briquettes and a couple o' chopped-up sponges," Gold commented.

"Coal and sponges?" Link asked.

"Aye, Cap'n," Gold said. "That was all we could spare."

"Wow," Flower remarked. He dropped his crate on top of the larger crate with Gold's. "Suddenly, toothpicks don't seem so stupid."

"Yeh want stupid?" Gold asked. "We once 'ad tae use seamen's underwear." He gave a brief pause. "I was really cold that night." Flower burst out laughing in response while Link allowed himself to grin.

When Leonard returned, he stomped out the smoldering remains of Leynne's flare and started directing individuals and families to where the crates had been set up. More people showed up on the edge of the crowd and started directing the population around. Soon, people were lined up single-file to receive their lots. Those that had drawn were then either directed toward a ship or sent into one of four warehouses depending on their color. Not long after the lottery began to play out, the two vessels that were already loaded up departed. According to Leonard, those ships were bound for Skyrider Port. Meanwhile, the storm continued its slow approach. Lightning constantly reminded everyone on the island that it was still there.

Link wished that the process would move faster. It felt like hours before the last of the first wave of ships left. The second wave felt like it took longer, although they had actually loaded up faster due to those who had already drawn the lots for them. In addition, it somehow disturbed him to look at the individuals coming up to draw. In his mind, he was constantly telling himself that, for every person that took one, it was only one person or family that was leaving. He wondered about how it might have gone on Autumn Island. Had they come up with a similar system of determining who got on which ship? Or was it possible that those ships were merely packed with tens of thousands of frightened people? By the time the last of the second wave had departed, Link had to step away and give himself a little room to clear his head.

"Hey, Lieutenant," Leonard said as he approached Link from behind. Link turned in response. "We've got the rest ready to go; the ships are boarding them now. There's nothing else to do here, so why don't you go back to your ship and get some rest?"

Link peered past him to the rest of the dock area. There were still five ships in the air and what must have been thousands of people still on the island, all of them crowded in the middle as they waited for the final ships to switch out. Link sighed and said, "I'll head back in a minute. If anyone still needs a ride, the Island Symphony has plenty of room. You're welcome aboard, too."

Leonard nodded. "Look." He paused as he scratched his head. "I… I know that we were still assigned to you, Lieutenant, but… well, since we got back, I… kinda started a life of my own. I didn't know whether I'd be getting pension or not, so… when we get to the Port, would you see about putting my paperwork through?"

"If you really wanna leave," Link replied.

"I met this wonderful gal out here. She and her son… I love them both. I wanna make a family with them. They're already at the Port; we planned to meet up when I got back out there."

Link nodded. "I think I understand. I was hoping you'd come back aboard like Line and Flower."

Leonard shook his head. "After all I've seen… I just can't, Lieutenant. I just don't have the will to serve anymore."

"Okay," Link said, nodding again. "We'll see what we can do when we get there. If anything, Captain Alfonzo is there, and he might be able to put your paperwork through."

"Thanks," Leonard said. He made to turn, but then he stopped and glanced toward the Island Symphony. "Congratulations on surviving. Nice ship, too." With that, he walked away.

The conversation had lifted Link's anxiety a bit. It was likely because he had been distracted from his thoughts; he could not even remember what had caused him to become so glum before. Now, the last few ships were loading up. It appeared to him that, despite the numbers of people they had just packed up, they had come with the right amount of ships after all. The last few were vessels the same size as the Island Symphony or smaller. They were not intended to do much work; they had been last in order of boarding in case the people of Center Island were capable of fitting on the other ships.

"Link." Again, Link was distracted out of his thoughts, this time at the sound of Princess Zelda's voice. He turned to find her. "I'm right behind you."

Link spun and discovered her ethereal form standing there. "Oh, Princess," he said with a casual air. "Is everything all right?"

"I cannot be certain, Link," she replied. Her tone put Link on edge. It sounded as if she might have some bad news. "I have heard a number of strange noises here, similar to what I informed you of before."

"You mean last time?" Link asked.

"Yes. Did you ever discover the cause?"

Link sighed. "Yeah, we might have," he confessed. "It's… likely that what you heard was the Smiling Gunner attacking Autumn Island."

"What?" Zelda asked in a small voice, eyes widening with shock.

Link gave a solemn nod. "We don't know how, but the Undying Storm escaped from its original position. Now, it's wandering the Sky Lines."

Zelda spun around and surveyed the docks. "Where are you now?"

"Center Island," Link said. "The Undying Storm is coming straight for it; we've been evacuating the population for…" He glanced up to find a black, starry sky above. "… I don't know, maybe the past few hours? We should be about done."

"Link," Zelda said as she turned back around. "You said that the sounds I heard might have been the Smiling Gunner attacking Autumn Island, correct?"

Link nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

"Link. As I speak to you, I can hear those same sounds."

Link nodded again. "Yeah, I get it. I…" He trailed off as his brain suddenly spurred into action. If she heard Cunimincus attack Autumn Island, then…

What was he doing now?

"Oh, no…" He uttered. Then he started a jog and moved around Zelda.

"Link!" she hollered, running to catch him. "Link, is that what I think it means?!"

"Yeah!" Link replied over his shoulder. Then he shouted, "Leonard! Hey, guys!"

"What's going on, Captain?" Flower asked as Link slid to a stop.

"We need to get out of here," Link said, trying to convey as much alarm as possible.

"What fer?" Gold asked, holding a red toothpick between his teeth.

Then, all four as well as Zelda perceived a whistling sound that was slowly growing in volume and looked toward the middle of the dock. Confusion turned to fear as the three older men suddenly realized what was happening.

Ka-BOOOOOM! The explosion erupted from somewhere a few streets away. A cloud of dust rushed through the buildings and blew out into the docks, startling the people still waiting for their turn to board. Link and his crew immediately covered their faces. When they looked around again, the crowd was now forcing itself close to the ships.

"Time for a stampede," Flower said.

"Leonard, Flower, start putting people on the Symphony!" Link ordered. Both men started to move toward the crowd.

Then another whistle pierced the air. And this one sounded louder. Flower wheeled around. "Incoming!" he shouted.

KA-BAAAAAM! The nearby warehouse blew apart, and Link and Gold were lifted off their feet. Link landed hard on the stone ground, bashing his right shoulder and his head. The sound had caused his ears to ring. For a moment, he thought that the explosion had paralyzed him; he could not move. Then he felt someone lift him off the ground. His senses slowly regained themselves, and he found Flower screaming in his face.

"Captain, say something!" Flower said when Link's hearing cleared up enough.

Flower then shook his shoulders, and Link grabbed his wrists to stop him. "I'm okay," Link said loudly, still partially deaf. "What happened?"

"Cannonball blew apart the warehouse," Flower replied. "We've got wounded."

Link shook his head so his thoughts would clear up. Then he told Flower, "Load up the Symphony; we gotta get outta here!"

"Sure," Flower said, "but you're going first. Gold!"

Link glanced around until he saw Gold slowly getting up from the ground. Gold shook himself off and called to Flower, "Yeah?"

"Get the Captain to the ship," Flower said. "Leonard and I are gonna bring all the people we can, so tell them to get ready."

Gold gave a grunt as he got near. "Got it," he replied. He put a hand on Link's hurt shoulder and pushed. "Let's go."

"Link!" As Link allowed himself to be escorted to the ship, he looked to his left to find Zelda jogging along beside him. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Link replied.

"Are you sure? You don't look too good."

"Well, being near that explosion didn't help."

"Cap'n, yeh know yer talkin' tae yerself?" Gold asked.

"I'll explain it later, Mister Gold," Link told him. "If I'm talking to myself, there's a reason."

"If you say so, Cap'n," Gold groaned.

Zelda disappeared from sight as Link and Gold walked up the narrow gangplank. Upon stepping onto the deck, Leynne was upon them. "Ah you two all right?" he asked.

"We're fine," Link replied. "Leynne, go tell Line to raise the ship so we can load people through the cargo hold." He stepped away from Gold so he can look at him. "Gold, go below and start organizing people. Have them go down to the orlop if you need, just make sure no one gets hurt." He looked across the deck for either Dholit or Dubbl. He found Dholit first and hollered, "Dholit!"

Leynne and Gold left his side as she approached. "Yes?" she asked with a determined look. She stood with her stance wide, like she was ready to run.

"Get below and find Cale and Lilly," Link told her. "We might be taking on wounded. I want anyone who's injured to be placed in the berthing deck."

"Yes, My Captain," she replied.

"Hey!" Link snapped as she spun around. "Where's Dubbl?"

"Down below, I believe," Dholit said over her shoulder.

"Have her gather the rest of the Gelto and bring them up here. The moment we're loaded, we're getting outta here."

"Undahstood," she said with a nod before she raced across the deck to one of the stairs below.

"I cannot believe this," Link heard Zelda say in a small voice. Link turned to find her still standing next to the opening in the bulwark. She looked up and asked, "Why is this happening, Link?"

Boo—BAAAAAM! A fireball suddenly rose from the docks, prompting Link to turn and look. More people had been scattered across the ground, although they did not appear to have been seriously injured as they rose.

"What was that!?" Zelda hollered, eyes staring at the smoke in the air above.

"Yeeeeeeah, that was a powder magazine," Link said.

"How do you know?"

"Line once blew one up." This caused Zelda to stare at Link in bewilderment. Link replied with a shrug. "Wasn't entirely his fault." Link noticed that the ship had risen and glanced toward the bow. "C'mon," he told her as he started across the deck.

They ran to the starboard hatch and descended into the cargo hold just as the first few residents were boarding. "C'mon!" Gold was hollering. "Get on and go tae the bo'om! 'Urry!"

"This way!" Link called out, directing a couple to the stairs. "All the way to the bottom. Hurry up."

Booooooom! Link heard the explosion and backed up so he could look out the open door on the starboard side. He heard Zelda take in a gasp and immediately saw why. The last round had landed on the docks, blowing away stone and sending people sprawling across the ground again.

He hollered, "Lilly!"

"Yes?" Lilly called back as she and Cale helped a man with a broken leg to the berthing deck.

"As soon as you get him settled, go to the engine room and have them send anyone they can spare," Link ordered.

"Got it," she said with a nod. She urged Cale, "Come on, hurry."

"Right," Cale said.

"Link, what are you doing?!" Zelda cried out as Link forced his way to the door in the hull, her voice now projecting itself within his mind.

"There are hurt people out there," Link said. He got past the door and wandered down the dock as people ran by on either side. "We need to get them on now."

"Be careful," Zelda told him.

Link reached the wider, open area of the port and sped across to the area where that last round had hit. A deep whistle sounded, and he immediately dropped to the ground with some of the people nearby. BOOOOOOM! The explosion came from another warehouse further down the port from them. He looked up to see that, despite how close it had come, no one was near enough to feel the effects of the blast. Link rushed to his feet and tore across the docks again. The first person he found was a man who had been thrown face-first into the ground. His back was covered in rubble, and his left arm had been broken, likely from the large chunk of stone next to him. Link reached down and picked him up by his good arm. "C'mon," Link told him. The man looked up with wild, frightened eyes. Link pointed to the Island Symphony. "Go, hurry!" The man cradled his broken arm against his stomach and started at an awkward run toward the ship. Link then dashed to the next person: a woman who had taken a nasty blow to the back of her head. She was squirming on the ground when he approached, and he carefully helped her back to her feet. She staggered as if she was drunk, and Link realized that he would have to take her back to the ship with him. He gave an exhausted sigh and looked around. Other residents were picking the wounded or each other up off the ground and pushing themselves towards the airships in spite of their injuries.

"C'mon, Lieutenant," someone suddenly said from Link's right. He turned to see that Leonard had already slung the woman's opposite arm over his shoulders. "Let's go." Link gave a determined nod.

Booooom! A distant explosion caused both of them to look back toward the town. More rubble had been flung into the air, but it was only visible because, at the same time, a number of lights went out down the street they were looking. Leonard nudged the woman and, by extension, Link. Link immediately started walking with Leonard, both of them dragging the woman's feet across the ground. Boooom! Another distant explosion, but Link did not look this time. He focused his eyes forward. Lawrence and Harley ran by, and Link glanced over his shoulder at them to see that they were also picking up wounded. BOOOOM! Link looked left. A round had hit the center of the docks again, but it was too far away to injure anyone else. In the corner of his eye, he spotted a bright glow and realized that a fire had started somewhere in the town.

They came close enough that someone carefully forced Link aside and took over his care of the woman. Link gave a quick word of thanks and turned around. The docks were nearly empty. Lawrence was approaching with a man hopping along on one leg. Harley was carrying a woman over one shoulder while guiding along a pair of children, both of them with one hand wrapped around one of his fingers. Flower was right behind, helping along another wounded woman with a local man. Link waved an arm to encourage them to move faster.

Ka-BAM! Link's glance snapped toward the airships nearby. One of them, a two-masted schooner, was rocking violently, and Link could see that a chunk of the hull on the starboard-aft quarter had been taken out by that last round. He cringed in horror. They were gonna be in some serious trouble if Cunimincus was starting to aim at the ships.

"Captain, that's everyone!" Flower shouted to him from behind. "Let's get the hell outta here!"

Link's eyes passed over the docks, looking for anyone else who might have fallen behind. However, those left on the surface were just finishing boarding a few of the other ships. So Link turned and dashed across the pier back into the ship. He stepped onto the door and crossed it quickly so that Gold could raise it. "Flower, Gold!" Link shouted above the sounds of what had to be over a hundred panicked people. "On-deck, now!" Although he had lost track of them after the door had shut, casting the hold in dim light from the overhead electric bulb, he worked his way to the starboard stairs and went up.

On the main deck, he stepped out far enough to be seen as he hollered out, "Layna, cut our mooring lines! Standby the capstans!" Layna, after having the order relayed by Dubbl, ran to the starboard bulwark with a knife in her hand. The rest of the Gelto ran aft to retrieve the boards to operate the capstans. Link spun and took the stairs up to the forecastle, where Leynne and Line were waiting. "Line, as soon as we're free, engine to full and get us into the Sky Line!"

"You got it," Line replied as he spun around to watch the action on the main deck. Then, after watching Layna cut the moorings, he shoved the engine lever and thrust the throttle to full. The ship pulled away slowly from the docks. Link had dreaded this; the ship was too heavy for the engine to accelerate them as it had before.

"You called us, Captain?" Gold asked as he and Flower approached him from the stairs.

"Yeah, keep close," Link said. "We don't know if we might have problems once we get into the Sky Line."

"Hey, Flower!" Leonard suddenly shouted from the deck behind them. Flower, Leynne, and Link spun around and stepped up to the rail. Leonard staggered to a stop just at the base of the stairs. "One of the ships isn't moving!" he shouted, pointing aft.

Link and Flower exchanged worried looks before Link hustled to starboard and looked beyond the stern. While the other ships had turned to leave the docks, one ship, the schooner that had been hit by cannon fire, was shaking its sails in an attempt to steer themselves. The only reason a schooner could not steer like that would be if the ship was not moving. The island's natural wind would not be enough to push the ship away, so it should have been running on its engine.

The same engine that might have taken damage from the earlier round.

Link smacked the bulwark in frustration and turned around. "They've got engine damage!" he shouted at his crew.

"Is theh anything we can do?" Leynne asked.

"Flower, go below and get us two mooring lines!" Link shouted. "Then get up to the poop deck! Line, bring us about and pull us alongside that other ship! Leonard, with me!"

Link and Flower stepped down to the main deck. While Flower disappeared into the stairs, Link, joined by Leonard, charged across the deck. Link had to keep from going full speed due to the ship turning to port, making his steps a little unsteady. They ran up the stairs until they were on the poop deck. Link had not been sure if the Island Symphony was fitted with chainplates specific to tugging other vessels, which was standard on most airships. Nor did he feel he had time to look. So he looked at the railing separating people from falling to the quarterdeck. He stepped over, placed his hands on top of it, and tried to shake it. Then he kicked the thick posts that supported the rail. Finding that the posts were solid, he turned to look at the rail that served as the top of the transom. "When Flower gets up here," he told Leonard, "tie one of the lines around these posts—" He kicked the post nearest his foot to show Leonard. "—and thread them through the railing in the transom. From there, we'll toss them to the other ship."

"Okay," Leonard said with a sharp nod.

"Link, do you have the time?" Zelda asked Link as he moved to the port side to look at the disabled vessel.

"Nobody's getting left behind," Link said. The Island Symphony appeared to still be a little sluggish; Line had yet to finish the turn. Further ahead, the other airships were hustling for the Sky Line, one of them going under the Island Symphony to avoid a collision.

Flower showed up with two mooring lines and tossed one to Link. Link and he tied them off, and he had Leonard take his and thread it through the transom's railing. The ship slowed, and Link waved Flower and Leonard to his side before he called to the other ship.

"Ahoy there!" Link shouted, both hands cupped around his mouth. "Can you guys move any!?"

A couple of the airmen on the bow exchanged words before someone from the bridge dashed across the deck toward them. "Ahoy!" the airman shouted. "Our engine's shot; we're dead in the wind! We're gonna abandon!"

"No, don't abandon!" Link shouted back. "Look! We're gonna throw you a couple of mooring lines! Tie them to your hull; we'll tow you out!"

The airman waved his hand. "Just get outta here! We'll only slow you down!"

"We're not leaving without you!" Link said. "Now will you take the ropes or not!?"

The airman looked to his fellows for a moment. Then he shouted, "Okay, send 'em over!"

"Okay," Link said as he backed away. "Toss 'em, guys."

Leonard had his coiled in his arms. When he threw it, he heaved it as hard as possible. Between the Island Symphony's proximity to the other vessel and the poop deck being higher than the other ship's forecastle, the first rope made contact with the deck and was grabbed by one of the other airmen while the man who had hailed them rushed back to the bridge. Flower made an identical throw, and the rope was caught before hitting the deck. Link watched for a moment while the airmen secured the ropes to the ship's beakhead.

Link then turned to Flower. "Stay here in case there's a problem with the lines," he said.

"Aye aye, Captain," Flower replied.

"Here," Leonard said, handing over a dagger in a sheath to Flower. Flower took it and gave him a confused look. "If the engine's damaged, their ballast system could go." Leonard glanced at Link before continuing. "Better they go alone than take us with them."

Link glared at him for a moment. Then he turned and marched down the stairs.

"Link," Zelda said as he was crossing the main deck. "You must hurry. The cannons have stopped firing." Link looked up and realized that, in the time it had taken for everything to happen, the Undying Storm had taken up half of the visible sky. The air was lit by lightning, and he could almost hear the accompanying thunder over the sounds of work around him.

He hustled onto the forecastle. "Line," he said immediately, "engine to full. Get us in the Sky Line."

"Here we go again," Line sighed as he turned to switch the engine back on.

"Leynne," Link said. He waited until Leynne stepped around the helm. "Go to the engine room. Tell Sello that if he's holding anything back with that engine, I want it now."

"I've a feeling he'll be delighted to oblige," Leynne said in a concerned voice just before rounding Link on his way to the main deck.

"Please hurry, Link," Zelda pleaded.

"We're trying," Link replied in a low voice as he looked ahead. The Sky Line was still some distance from them, and they would have to hope that the other ship's ballast was operating; it might be hard to tow a ship that could not enter the Sky Line with them.

The ship rocked, and Link moved over to the side to look beyond the stern. "Please tell me we're still moving," Line called to him.

Link could only see the island. For a moment, he was worried that the two ships might have actually been too much for Sello's engine. Then the bowsprit of the other ship, silhouetted in the remaining lights of the island behind them, appeared from behind the stern. If the engine had failed, that would not have appeared at all. "No, we're still moving," Link called back.

"Yeah, at a snail's pace," Line replied as Link returned to his side. "I hope this is a good idea, Link."

"Me, too," Link replied as he watched the storm to port. "Because we're gonna have another problem once we reach the Sky Line."

"What's that?"

Link pointed at the storm. "Once we're under it, we're also gonna be in Cunimincus' line of fire.

Line directed his eyes down at the helm and uttered to himself, "Oh, crap…"

"Once we're under the Sky Line, put everything into the ballast," Link said. "And hope it counters the ship's weight."

"We really need to stop cutting these things so close," Line told him.

"Lieutenant," Leonard said as he stepped onto the forecastle. "Looks like the lines are holding. The other ship is moving right with us. Now we just need some speed."

"Our chief engineer should be working on it now," Link told him.

"I hope so," Line said. "I'd hate to die because our chief engineer needed to get even more drunk…"

"How's that?" Leonard asked, glancing at Link.

"I'll explain later," Link said.

The wheel suddenly jerked in Line's hands. "Whoa!" he cried out, adjusting his stance to keep the wheel from spinning out of control.

"What is it?" Link asked.

"Crosswinds," Line replied. "Storm, remember?" The ship began to shake. Line watched the compass in front of him waver for a moment. Then he steered the ship a little more to starboard. "I think I can get some more speed if I ride it."

"Be careful, Line," Link told him. He looked ahead at the blue shimmer of the Sky Line. They still were not close enough to hear its howl, but the thunder from the storm seemed to be getting louder. Link took in a breath and held it.

Then, for what seemed to take a whole year, the Island Symphony was under the Sky Line. Line finished turning it to follow the Sky Line's course. "Here comes the fun part," Line said.

"Go signal the other ship to start rising," Link told Leonard. "We need to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Got it, Lieutenant," Leonard replied. He gave Link a quick, unexpected salute and then turned to run to the stern.

Link stepped to the rail at the back of the forecastle. "Open the sails!" he shouted to the Gelto over the sound of the Sky Line. The Gelto had already had the handles in the capstan, and Dholit disengaged the helm. This caused the ship to rock a bit more. Then the sails spread open. Between the masts, Leonard signaled the forecastle from the poop deck. Link spun to Line. "Get us out of here."

"Gladly," Line replied. He turned around and threw the ballast control to full. Then, contrary to what they thought would happen, the ship did not appear to respond. Line exchanged worried looks with Link. "Uh oh." Link decided to move back to the starboard side to see if the other ship was having the same problem.

That was when the ship rose underneath his feet, causing him to fall to the deck. "Link!" Zelda cried out in his head.

"I'm okay," he replied. "Line!?"

"Better late than never!" Line replied, bracing himself for the approaching Sky Line.

The Island Symphony entered and lurched forward. Line nearly lost his balance. The Gelto on the main deck, rushing across to the aft capstans, fell to the deck. They recovered immediately and surrounded the capstans so they could open the outboard sails.

Link got back to his feet and stepped up to the bulwark. He watched as the last light of Center Island was swallowed by the Undying Storm. He sighed and rested his arms on the bulwark, silently thanking whatever divine influence was watching over them.