Chapter Two Hundred and Forty - Cry Havoc, And Let Slip the Lasers of War

Chapter Two Hundred and Forty - Cry Havoc, And Let Slip the Lasers of War

Chapter Two Hundred and Forty - Cry Havoc, And Let Slip the Lasers of War

The Beaver swooped down towards the town, like a whale plunging down to nibble at some plankton.

All sails! Clive called out, and--across both decks--a bunch of us tugged back on ropes at the same time. All around the Beaver, the ships sails unfurled fully, snapping in the wind, and slowing the Beaver down enough that I suddenly felt a lot heavier, as if I was on an elevator shooting up.

Moonie! This is it, I shouted. We were only a couple of hundred metres above the town, the pretty cry towers in the centre looming closer. I squinted, and could make out the bobbing blue forms of at least a dozen cry.

Take care, everyone, Moonie said as they hovered by the edge of the deck. They had our makeshift parachute held in a telekinetic grip, and around them was a satchel filled with the tubes Awen had jury-rigged. You were enjoyable companions, and fair friends. Thank you.

I grinned. Thank you too! It was a pleasure having you aboard the Beaver Cleaver.

Moonie bobbed up and down one final time, then they slid off the side of the ship while we cheered them on.

I hope they remember your half-baked plan, Amaryllis said.

Its an excellent plan, I countered before half-turning to Clive. Lets get some altitude!

Aye-aye, Clive said. He pulled a lever back and, as planned, let the engine slow down, so that we were flying mostly on momentum and what speed we could get from the engine idling. The wind, at least, was in our favour.

Seeing as how there wasnt much to do but wait, I hung off the side of the Beaver and looked down.

The parachute was working. I could make out the big, rounded-ish tarp floating down a ways behind us. Moonie must have been using their hovering ability to aim it, because it seemed to be heading towards the five towers in the centre of town. Some of the cry hovering around there were grouping up, maybe curious about their new airdropped friend.

Itll be fine, Bastion said.

You think? I asked.

The cry after us must have seen Moonie dropping; theyll want to slow down if their goal is to recapture them. Were no longer their target.

But Moonie is, and we basically just threw them overboard, I said.

We threw them into the hands of allies more capable of protecting them, Bastion said. He patted me on the shoulder. Youre a good person, Broccoli, and a surprisingly competent captain and leader, but you still lack a bit of experience. It can be hard for an officer to learn that sometimes things are beyond your control.

I know that, I said, and if I was pouting a bit as I said it, Bastion didnt comment. It just feels wrong.

Amaryllis moved over, looking fairly smug, or at least more smug than usual. Moonies landed, she said. I think shes handing out Awens little telescope devices.

Really? I asked. A glance over the edge revealed that Amaryllis was right, at least as far as I could tell. Wed moved past the edge of the town already, and it was hard to make out details from so far away. Great! Clive, circle us around!

Clive nodded, and with a spin of the helm, set the Beaver to making a big, wide turn. Wed be drawing huge circles in the sky by the edge of the town soon enough.

We could just keep going, Amaryllis said. In fact, thats very much what we should be doing.

I... maybe, but I want to see how things play themselves out.

Amaryllis shook her head, but she didnt protest any more than that.

I watched, biting my lower lip, as the distant cry airships became not-so-distant. On the ground, the cry were starting to hover back up around their towers, and I saw parts of those towers being moved aside to reveal the crystalline blue of large cry within. More cry like Towerhidden then.

The three cry ships split apart, two of them veering off towards our right, the third the left.

Broccoli! Amaryllis snapped.

I shook my head. Full power to the grav engine! Clive, slow us down. Awen! See if you cant get the engine to give us more time. Everyone, all sails out! Steve, check the ballooncan we patch those holes?

I got a chorus of aye ayes and some okay, Broccolis, then I jumped to help my friends.

With all of his sails angled to act as parachutes, the Beaver was a fair bit slower in the air, and the gravity engine reduced our weight by a whole bunch, but that wasnt enough to stay buoyant.

A glance off the side revealed the ground approaching. Not too quickly, but approaching all the same.

Steve waved at me from across the deck and shook his head. Clive, we need to land. What are we looking for in a landing space?

Something flat, the harpy pilot said.

I rushed to the side and started to look for just that, but the town was surrounded by hills and forests. There was some room between some patches of trees, but nothing that was even remotely flat.

I glanced back to the town, where the remaining cry airship was retreating with a plume of fire bursting out behind it. It wasnt even returning fire, just focusing on keeping its shields up to weather the angry lasers coming from the ground. I even noticed other magic being flung up. Lightning bolts and fireballs and even the occasional arrow.

The town was flinging everything it had at the cry, and the cry were scampering off as quickly as they could manage it.

I wanted to cheer them on, but I had more important things to do, like... like noticing that the centre of town, where the five towers were, was mostly empty, with a large paved area in the centre of the five towers that could very easily fit a ship the size of the Beaver.

Clive! Centre of town, near the towers. Theres a space in the middle. Its all flat and paved. Can we land there?

Clive craned his neck to see what I was talking about, then turned the helm a little bit, angling us more towards the centre of town.

We were still losing altitude when Clive reversed the engine and we came to a gentle stop in the middle of the towers. We soon dropped under the tops of the towers, all five of them rising around the Beaver on all sides, like the fingers of a stone giants hands.

Were dropping a bit faster than Id like, Captain, Clive said. We need to lose some mass.

Weigh the anchors! I called. Those were pretty heavy already. And, uh... oh shoot, what else can we do?

I ran to the side, and saw a few cry hovering closer, some of them with Awens laser focuses near them. Laser focuses aimed at us.

Hey! I called out, an arm waving above me. We need to slow down more! Can you shield the ground?

That seemed to do the trick. People who were going to attack or something didnt usually ask for help. At least, I hoped not.

A few cry summoned shields that the Beaver rammed into, shattering them a moment later. Still, the heavy lurch of it all did slow us down, even if I worried that it was causing a lot of damage to the keels.

More cry came over, and soon a dozen of them hovered next to the Beaver. I wasnt sure what they were doing until I felt us slowing down.

Telekinesis. One cry could lift a bit, so maybe with a dozen of them pushing back together...

Then one of the towers glowed from within and the Beavers descent slowed down even more.

Carefully, with an almost gentle clunk, our airship touched down.

And then the tarp of our balloon draped itself over all of us.

Congratulations! Captaining is now Rank E!

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