Chapter 67: Sea Cows.
There had been a real swagger in Ketra's stride since the night she and Jay duelled and she'd won, it seemed that the prize she had claimed had really lifted her spirits and put her in a really good place.
Infact it had been so obvious that all of her knights had been commenting on it almost constantly as they'd marched along towards their rendezvous with the ship that was due to take them to meet up with Jay's fellow Saviours.
Infact Jay couldn't help but smile at the really obvious joy in her as well especially as he knew that he was the cause. It was often said that few beings shine like a Dream Warrior in love and Jay had wondered what those that had said had meant until now, now he knew exactly what they meant.
As he watched the big Beledon woman she seemed to be actually breaking out into a full-on skip from time to time which given both her size and the fact that she was wearing full plate armour was both heartwarming and hilarious all in one.
She also kept doing things like stopping to smell flowers that they found along their route and it was rather adorable to see Ketra bending down to take a deep whiff of any of the millions of bright and colourful blooms along their path, though Jay had to admit to himself that when she did bend down to the flower it wasn't her joyful face he was looking at.
It also seemed that Ketra's joyful glow hadn't just brought joy to her friends and colleagues if the way that Ova was constantly watching Xao was anything to go by, the big Beledon hadn't taken her eyes off the young Asian man since she'd seen her friend in such a good mood, though that might have something to do with the fact that they'd heard the whole thing given that tents weren't exactly soundproof as Jay had found out from Xao.
"Boy, you two were seriously going at it last night weren't you? Pretty sure I heard every movement to the point where I could time it," Xao said sidling up to Jay as they walked.
Jay felt a hot flush pass right through him and he glanced at the grinning Asian man, "Was it really that bad?" he asked and Xao chuckled and nodded.
"Oh yeah and how, though you ought to try being the only man in a group of girls listening to that going on I'. just sitting there eating my stew and I had all of them staring at me at one point I thought Ova was going to polish her sword down to a needle she was rubbing it so hard," he said with a soft chuckle.
"Sorry about that my friend," Jay said apologetically and Xao shook his head and slapped him on the shoulder.
"Hell no you do not apologise for loving that big girl, it actually taught me something rather valuable if I'm honest," Xao said shaking his head and Jay cocked his own curiously.
"Oh?" he said and Xao smiled at him softly.
"It taught me that alien species truly are no different to us inside, I mean outside sure they are different I mean look at these girls it's like being among a group of walking talking Minotaurs right out of Greek mythology, then there are the visuals but inside they are just that, girls plain and simple, no different from any true human girl, same feelings, same joys, same fears, same worries and same doubts, it showed me that girls are the same the universe over regardless of species, which means that boys are the same too and everything in-between," Xao said happily glancing around at all the Beledon knights that were walking alongside them and by the twitching of some ears Jay realised more than one of them were listening to them now.
Jay couldn't help but smile as Xao hadn't realised that since the language patch thanks to Ketra that all of the girls could understand what he was saying perfectly so he couldn't hide behind the speeky no Beledon routine anymore, but he seemed to have forgotten that part and by the way Ova's ears were straining and looking like they were going to crawl off her head to sit on his shoulders, she was desperate to hear more of this.
"Now you are starting to see things like a true sailor of the ocean of black my friend and what's more you are starting to speak like a true member of Clan Mason because that is one of the founding cornerstones of the Clan, love comes in all forms and you will never know it's true face until you are in its arms and it locks eyes with you because it is a secret that only your heart knows and it keeps it until it is ready," Jay said smiling a little dreamily at the back of Ketra's head as she reached up into a tree to pluck down what appeared to be a large apple-like fruit.
"Yeah and that's what I'm saying, it really amazed me when you guys showed up on our ship, it royally blew my fucking mind into a billion little bits that I've spent all this time trying to piece the fuck back together, there are all these amazing and different species out there in space and as a species, we are arrogant enough to think that not only are we the pinnacle of creation but that some still even believe that we are still alone but it's just not true none of it," Xao said and Jay grinned at him.
"Hey speak for yourself, I grew up in Clan Mason remember? Not an Earth baby so alien species are my everyday, so we have a little bit of a different perspective on things," Jay said and Xao nodded again.
"Yeah I'm really beginning to see that, I mean it really hit me just how different we are last night when Ketra dragged you off into that tent, I mean sure I kinda realised what was going to happen between you but there was still a part of me that just kept saying ahh she's going to realise he's a human and she's an alien and it's not going to work and boy isn't it going to be embarrassing when she realizes that they don't fit together, but then the noises started and that part of my brain was like holy shit they we actually do fit together and rather well by the sounds of things, but how, how is that possible?" Xao said and Jay gave his shoulder pauldron a friendly shake.
"You got the very well part right and to be fair we've been pretty lucky so far in that the sentient species that we have encountered are all compatible at least in the physical as well as the emotional sense, now I'm not saying that this will be the case with every species we encounter but that's part of the joy of being Clan Mason, seeking out that new and wondrous life and learning about them as we teach them about us, then finding that despite our differences there is almost always a way to make things work," he said and Xao smiled and nodded.
"Yeah I'm beginning to really believe that too, so umm what was it like?" he asked sounding embarrassed and Jay sensed an opportunity most fortunate here and he gave Xao an evil grin.
"Trust me when I say this Xao there simply are not the words potent enough to explain such a joy as finding the purest of loves especially among those of another species, it jumbles your emotions into a ball of yarn within your soul that's wound so tight that not even two-star ships flying in opposite directions would have the strength to unravel it, all those beautiful similarities and exquisite differences blur together to form a whole and that whole is truly perfect, it's like realizing that your soul is a jigsaw and that there has been a piece missing this entire time and only when they click right into that place like they have always belonged right there do you realise it, in my case that hole was Beledon shaped and sized and now look, I am complete, a whole person, a whole male, a whole love, a whole soul filled with love and joy," Jay said and watched as Xao's eyes got wider and wider with every word that fell out of his lips and his weren't the only ones.
"W-Wow it's that powerful?" Xao stammered and Jay grinned at him.
"Oh you have no idea brother, the moment you realise a member of another species sees you in that light and you realise just what it is you mean to them it hits your soul like a hammer striking a bell, it sends out this resonance that just shows you that you are no different from them not really, because if in that moment you realise that you feel the exact same way then the result is just too powerful for words because in that moment you realise what love truly is," Jay said.
"What's that?" Xao asked breathlessly and he wasn't the only one.
The Beledon other than Ketra had pretty much given up on the pretence of not being interested in his words all while eavesdropping, now they were pretty much gathered around him as they walked and Xao was so distracted that he hadn't noticed at all as he was too busy hanging on Jay's every word.
"It's the light of the universe, the light that flows through every soul regardless of species, gender or any other confining labels we give ourselves, it flows through all of us exactly the same regardless," Jay said and Xao's eyes sparkled.
That's when he looked up and realised that Ova was hovering over them both as they walked and as their eyes met Jay decided to hit the bell with a Tik eleth Mason-sized hammer, "Do you see the light Xao?" he asked softly and without breaking his gaze Xao's mouth moved as if someone else was moving it like a puppet.
"I-I-I see it," he said and then Jay closed the trap.
"Describe it for me," he said softly in a voice like liquid silk,
"B-B-Big, strong, beautiful, fur like silk, it shines like snow and coal mixed together, it contrasts so beautifully, she has a soul like white fire, she's like a radiant angel made flesh and fur," he said in an almost hypnotized voice before he shook his head to clear it and looked between Jay and Ova in confusion as if he couldn't believe what had just happened and that's when Jay grinned up at Ketra who was stood behind the young human smiling brightly at her new husband over the top of Xao's head as she lifted her hand off the back of Xao's neck.
"All the truth needs is the right push my love and it just tumbles out as it's always begging to be free," she said and Jay grinned and nodded.
"Yup and there are no lies before Dream Warriors because they can pull the truth out of you, they can make you speak the words that your soul tries so hard to hide," Jay said and before any of them could say another word Ova just burst.
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She let out this half squeal half bray and then snatched Xao off his feet and crushed him into her chest, "Xao is the most beautiful creature that I have ever seen! I do not care anymore and I will not hold back the truth of my heart and soul, if these beautiful creatures are good enough for Blessed Knight Ketra then they are more than good enough for me! I claim you Xao and if I must duel you or the fucking devil himself to make it happen then I will but I will never let you go, I will make you mine no matter what!" Ova bellowed to the skies high above them as if she was daring the gods to challenge her claim on the surprised young human.
Ova held out Xao before her by the arms and he looked at her with a bewildered look of surprise on his face, "Since the moment I laid eyes upon you I believed I was dreaming, I never believed that a creature that is the living embodiment of beauty could exist, I kept expecting to wake up alone in my bedroll once more and to feel the weight of my loneliness and despair crush in on me once more but every single time I have opened my eyes over the last few days there you have been sleeping only feet way from me and try as I might I could not look away from you, it made my very soul scream in both joy and despair, joy because you are not a dream but despair in that I could not touch you in the way my heart yearns for, it was like I was a starving woman in chains tormented with a roast dinner that I got to watch another devour before my eyes, but I do not care anymore, I will break these fucking chains that hold me down with my own two hands, I will break my heart and its words free, I am head over tail in love with you human Xao and I do not care two shits who knows it as I will not be judged by any but the goddess herself, so here it is Xao I lay two things at your feet, my heart and a sword and I let you choose which one you will pick up," Ova said proudly before placing Xao back down on his feet before her.
Xao looked stunned beyond words and just stood there wide-eyed as all the Beledon and one human all looked at him expectantly, but before he even knew what in the name of hell he was doing he simply stepped forwards and reached out to take Ova's massive hand and he looked up at her having to crane his neck slightly to look up at the truly gigantic Beledon woman.
She was everything that the words Ketra had prised out of his soul had described and so much more, over the last few days both living and travelling with these wonderful people he had got to learn so much about them and it had truly opened his eyes to the reality of life and of love.
Having seen Jay with Ketra it had shown him that not only was such a thing truly possible but it seemed incredible, the truth was that these wonderful people were truly no different to him, they had their wants, their joys, their fears and all the things in-between.
They were as sentient as him and no less intelligent despite their technological differences, then there was the size and the biological differences which at first he had truly feared worried that they would somehow work out that they were not only bigger than he but a lot stronger too but he'd swiftly come to realise that to them these things simply didn't matter, take Ketra and Jay.
When she had duelled him for the right to claim his heart she had done so fairly, she had fought him on a level that he could beat her upon, which given that she was both much stronger than him but one of these Dream Warrior things that Jay had taught him about really spoke volumes about them and her.
They were a people of true honour and passion and they hid from neither and now here was the most beautiful one of all of them stood before him bearing her heart and soul to him and offering him the chance to take this step with her into the unknown, to truly embrace what it meant to be human in this new age, no not just human, sentient.
It was true, it was all true, love really didn't have a face until it did and when it did you simply knew it like somehow you had always known it but it had always been hidden from you, so tantalizingly close but always hidden, an unknowable secret that begs you to discover it's meaning until the moment the veil simply fell away from your eyes and you saw it, or in his case, her.
Xao kissed both of Ova's hands one after the other placing his lips against the cool metal of her gauntlets and wishing silently that it was her fur but he just hoped that the gesture would be enough.
"I do not need a sword other than to defend you Ova, a sword is meant to hurt and the only ones I wish to hurt are those who would wish you harm, so if it's all the same to you I choose your heart," he said softly but confidently because right at this moment he just knew, this was the woman who would change his life forever.
Ova let out a bellow of purest joy though quite how he knew it was joyful was beyond him but somehow he just did and then she once again snatched him from his feet like he weighed less than a bag of feathers and clutched him to her armoured breast.
Though this time she did more than simply hold him there, just like they'd both seen Jay and Ketra do she smashed her large wide mouth to his and to his purest delight his very first kiss in this life came from a beautiful alien woman from across the stars.
"I have my man! Finally, I am blessed by the Goddess!" Ova yelled happily as she hoisted Xao into the air above her head with her hands under his armpits like she was holding up a child and he felt a surge of embarrassment but also of joy because the faces that all looked up at him were both a mixture of jealousy and happiness.
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When Ova finally put Xao down the group continued on their way towards the ocean but now Ova had joined Ketra in her skipping and flower smelling.
"Wow, these Beledon girls really take their love seriously don't they?" Xao said as he fell into step with Jay who just grinned at him and shook his head.
"What?" Xao asked upon seeing this and Jay fixed a grin on him.
"Think these girls are bad you should see Yautja girls or Xenos," he said with a chuckle and Xao cocked his head curiously.
"Why? What do they do then?" he asked.
"Well Yautja girls will most likely go off and hunt the biggest nastiest thing they can find just to give you its skull as a trophy while Xenos will go full Praetorian," Jay said and Xao looked confused.
"What the hell is a Praetorian?" Xao asked and Jay glanced at him.
"Put it this way it's a Xeno that makes these girls here look small, it's the next thing down to a hive queen," Jay said and he could the gears turning in Xao's head as he tried to picture this based on his short meeting with the one Yautja girl and Xeno on his team and he could see him doing mental maths to measure them up.
"Don't worry Xao you'll see them one day when the Clan rescues us and take us home and don't worry there will be a place for Ova there too," Jay said and Xao looked at him curiously.
"Do you think she'd want to leave? I mean all her friends and family are here," he said and Jay shrugged.
"Well Clan Mason would never ever force them from their homes or their land so that would really be up to her, we are Guardians, not conquerers so it would be a choice, I mean hell you wouldn't even have to live there if you did not wish to, you could visit and then return here if that was your wish, you'd have to discuss it with both her and the Clan leaders, though if Ketra goes I'm pretty sure Ova will as well," he said.
"Does she want to?" Xao asked and Jay nodded.
"Yeah she wants to see my world and she wants to be trained as a Seeker though I get the feeling she will probably wish to return to serve her people as a Seeker Guardian here, which if she does I'll most likely ask for a transfer to the embassy that we would build here or something," Jay said.
"Wow, so you'd really give up your life in the stars for her huh?" Xao said sounding impressed and Jay simply smiled at him.
"How can you call it love if you are not willing to sacrifice for it?" he replied and that made Xao smile and nod as he glanced at Ova who was currently chatting with her fellow knights.
Jay instantly saw the dreamy look that settled on Xao's face as he gazed at the big black and white Beledon knight and he smiled at him and patted his shoulder, "She's a good woman, you don't need to be a Dream Warrior to see what's in her heart so you make her happy you hear me?" he said and Xao turned to look at him and nodded.
"You can count on me Saviour, or should I say Knight Jay?" he said making Jay laugh.
"That's gonna be a fun one to explain to both my comrades and Matriarch Sela eleth Mason, something tells me I'm gonna be in for quite a lot of ribbing back in the Saviour barracks when I get back, though to be fair I think I'll probably have to apply for married quarters now," he said turning to smile at Ketra only to find her stood a foot away from him holding what appeared to be holding a little crown of flowers which she planted right on top of his head before leaning down and kissing his lips.
"It's gonna be worth it though right?" Xao said and Jay grinned.
"Oh hell yes," he said.
The rest of the trip down to the port town where they to meet the ship was pretty uneventful with just a few minor skirmishes with the local wildlife though it was pretty funny to see Ova lose her shit when an odd little creature that kinda looked like a wingless bat that stood on two long skinny legs with arms that seemed to connect to the rear of its horizontal body decided it wanted a piece of Xao.
The creature was about thigh high to them and was about the size of a medium-sized dog, it had a mouth filled with long pointed teeth so it looked like it had a wicked bite if it did manage to get ahold of your flesh, but oddly it also appeared to be completely blind though its massive ears and nose more than made up for it.
But no sooner had it dashed out of a bush and made a dash right for the rather alarmed Xao than it quickly found out what it and its distant cousins had in common, the power of flight.
Though to be fair this one only learned this missing power thanks to making contact with Ova's hoof coming the other way with enough force to send the creature spinning off into a shrieking cartwheel between the trees and off into the distance.
"Foul thing! No one bites my man!" Ova had bellowed after it with such fury that Jay swore he saw steam coming from her large nostrils before she spun and proceeded to check Xao over to ensure that it had indeed missed its target.
"Thanks my love, what the hell was that thing?' Xao had asked looking off into the distance where she had hoofed it.
"A Nightstalker, odious little creatures that do not seem to know their place in the food chain, they will take on just about anything, not exactly what you'd call smart," Ova had said seemingly happy that she wasn't going to have to chase after the creature to get back any missing chunks of her man stolen by it.
"You got some seriously odd wildlife on this planet, like those bloody Floor things that pretend to be flowers to eat the insects," Xao had said.
Ova snorted in annoyance at the memory as Jay grinned remembering the shock she'd got when she'd reached down to pick up a flower only to have it turn out to be a little four-legged furry creature with a head shaped like a bright red flower that shrieked at her when she grabbed it.
Though it was also that moment that also proved to Jay that Beledon girls while they were non-aggressive for the most part turned into furry Yautja girls the moment you scared them, as she had basically thrown the poor creature into orbit all while making the girliest scream Jay could have ever imagined someone her size ever releasing.
The port town turned out to be a more small city by the sheer amount of people and buildings here, it was a massive place and as they walked through Jay was so very aware of the looks they were constantly getting from the ever-curious locals, hell in a way they kinda reminded him of Raptorians in that way, those lot would crawl over anything new until they were fully satisfied they knew what it was and what it did, though there was only one Beledon he was going to let crawl over him and she was striding proudly at his side.
As they strolled through the fish market and into the docks both Jay and Xao were looking at the massive tall ships that were all breathed in the docks being loaded and unloaded by their crews.
To Jay, they looked like the pictures that had come right out of the human history classes he'd taken back in school when he learned of the history of Earth as it was known to the Clan.
They were truly massive wooden constructions that were powered by the gigantic sails that hung from the dizzying masts that reached for the clouds high above them.
"So which one is ours?" Jay asked looking at Ketra and she smiled down at him.
"Oh none of these, these are trade ships ours is a passenger ship they are much faster than these," she replied.
"Oh? What's the difference?" Jay asked curiously.
"That is," Ketra said pointing and as Jay turned his head he felt his mouth drop open as his eyes caught sight of the berths.
"How the fuck did we not see those before!?" Xao exclaimed as he caught sight of what Ketra was pointing at.
"Yeah that's what I was asking myself," Jay exclaimed as he looked up to the massive U-shaped berth that sat up on the truly gigantic wooden structure that held about six of the berths but it was what was sat atop of these berths that really took their breaths away, the Beledon had airships.
"You seem surprised Jay," Ava said suddenly snapping Jay out of his stupor as he stood staring open-mouthed at the massive wooden ship that was sat in its berth with a truly gigantic leather balloon sat above it connected by what appeared to either be thick ropes or chains.
All along the sides of the bow and now folded in so it could sit in the berth were a series of large arms each of which supported a large fan which obviously propelled the ship through the air as it rode the clouds like they were waves.
"Well umm yeah when you guys said we're taking a ship I was imagining one of those things there not err that," Jay stammered and Ava smiled.
"You did not expect us to have technology such as this did you?" she said reading right through him like he was made of black stained glass and he flushed, nodding.
"No not exactly and in truth can you blame me given the level of technology at which the villages and towns seem to operate?" she shot back making both Ava and Ketra snort in amusement.
"For the most part we Beledon prefer to live simple lives, there is much honour and pride to be had in the simplest of lives lived well, can you truly say that a simple farmer is any less important than a noble lord? Because without the farm the lord does not eat and last I checked you cannot eat nobility," Ava said but before he could answer her one of the other knights got there first.
"Oh I don't know Blessed Knight Ketra is pretty noble and he gave a pretty damn good go at eating her from what I hear," someone behind him said and there were a lot of giggles as Jay flushed so hot he felt like his armour was going to start glowing any moment but then he decided to own that and as he was taught in the Saviours, fight fire with even more fire.
"Yeah tasted pretty damn good too if I do say so, might have to treat myself to another bite when I get the chance, you know just to be sure," he said slipping his arm around Ketra's wide hips and giving her tail root a gentle stroke where they could not see but they did see her ears shoot up in surprise.
"Keep teasing me beautiful little human and you'll find out how un-noble like I can be," Ketra said shooting a salacious smile down at him and planting a heavy hand on his shoulder so he did what any good Saviour would do when issued a challenge, he gave a tail a soft pull and a gentle squeeze making a soft bray escape her lips.
Her knights and Ava all chuckled to themselves and shook their heads as they watched the pair, then Ava cleared her throat to get their back off one another and back on her.
"Well, Ketra and Sir Jay's love life aside and before my Blessed sister throws you over her shoulder and clomps off with you again I'd better explain, these skyships are owned by all kingdoms, they were a joint effort of the best minds of all the kingdoms, well most of them anyway, there were one or two who did not believe in either the joint venture or co-operation at all really," Ava said and Jay looked at her curiously.
"Why not?" he asked and Ava sighed and lowered her head in what Jay had learned was a display of sadness as her ears drooped.
"There are some that not only believe that they are better and superior to the rest of us but that is destined to unite all Beledon under their lead, though it's more like under their hoof, they have tried and failed more than once to conquer the free kingdoms but every time they have been driven back, but rumour has it that they are amazing to try again and from what whispers I have heard it is most likely going to be a charge led by mine and Ketra's kind," she said sadly.
Jay scratched his chin, "So could it be that that is where the Nightmare Assassins are coming from?" Jay said and she nodded.
'This is our belief as well but back to happier topics of the skyships, these and many more like them were designed by the best minds and most talented engineers not to mention blacksmiths from across the free kingdoms and they are crewed by the very best sailors, their job is solely to connect us and to make it far easier to reach those that need us," Ava said looking up at the massive ships.
"I see, so what's filling the bladders that lifts them?" Jay asked.
"Well when they were first designed it was hot air but this proved to be unreliable, so our best minds looked for a solution and then they found it, a gas given off by an underwater plant called Belboa, now we harvest it in great quantities the gas that is not the plant," Ava explained.
"Is it err flammable?" Jay asked as an image of a burning airship from one of his history books flashed through his mind and thankfully Ava shook her head.
"No thankfully, an accident in the early days of testing put a stop to that practice swiftly and thankfully no lives were lost but lessons were learned and learned well," Ava said making Jay relax somewhat.
"Well then let's go and get aboard shall we?" he asked and Ava grinned at him flicking her ears happily.
"That's the spirit little human," she said happily and led the way down to the air docks.
The ship itself was actually quite a marvel to Jay, it was like a blend of fairly modern ideas and old technology, the captain who was a very gruff-looking Beledon male with grey and black shaggy fur took the group on a tour of his vessel which was called the Breath of the Ocean.
The large fans that propelled it forwards seemed to be driven by large brass and copper boilers that were kept in a room made entirely of metal that was lined with some kind of clay to prevent the heat from setting the wooden ship on fire as the boilers ran the two massive steam-driven engines.
It was incredible to see such a leap up in technology from the primitive lives the villagers and townspeople lived but that seemed in keeping with the Beledon way of doing things.
It was becoming clear to jay now that they lived the way they did through choice rather than the inability to lift themselves up and while they were impressed with his own technology he began to wonder if they would even embrace it if it was offered to them by the Clan.
But he did have to admit that there was something noble in choosing to live a simple life where the sweat off your brow was proof of a hard day's work for the betterment of both yourself and those of the people around you, it was certainly an honourable one that he knew the Clan would embrace wholeheartedly as it was already a practice they subscribed to.
The rest of the ship was made up of four major areas, the passenger cabins for guests sailing the sky with them, the mess hall where all ate, and the crew quarters which were little more than a series of hammock-like beds hanging between a series of metal reinforced support timbers and finally the hold where all their gear was stowed including the big lizard pulling the cart.
It was obvious by the way that the big grizzled captain who was dressed in a long dark cloth coat with a large circular hat on his head spoke that he was proud of both his ship and his crew as he kept referring to it as she and referring to it as the fastest ship that sailed the skies.
But finally, the tour was done and they were shown to their cabins, Jay and Ketra were given a double after it was explained to the petty officer who was in charge of assigning such things that they were a couple, which truly amazed him if the look on his face was anything to go by but it was obvious that he was smart enough to hold any opinions that he may have on the subject to himself before a group of heavily armed Knights two of which were Dream Warriors and merely gave them the double as well as Ova and Xao as well.
Though Jay did note that they'd been placed next door to one another so he did hope that the wooden walls were both sturdy and thick or given how competitive his lady was he might find out what it was like to be on the receiving end of her attempts to out do her friend in the competition of love.
But finally, once everything was stowed and made ready a Beledon on the deck sent a series of coded messages to the dock master using what appeared to be semaphore flags and was answered in kind.
As Jay looked over the side of the massive wooden rails the anchor lines were retracted into the ship and she began to lift from her berth slowly into the sky before the four large struts holding the fans lowered into place each supporting a large fan-like sail which obviously helped push them along as well as stabilise their flight.
From below decks, he heard the mighty steam engines start up with a shudder that passed through the whole thing before a series of little chimnies at the rear began to release both smoke and steam pressure while to their sides the fans began to lazily spin up, this was it they were off.