Chapter 245: Blockade Runners

Chapter 245: Blockade Runners

An hour before dawn saw Dauntless moving toward the rain with all sails at full heat. Splinter sailed beside her, sprinting ahead and cutting to port and starboard as Captain Woodrat grilled his Navigator on small tricks of steering and moving the heat in the sails to get the most speed out of the ship. It hadn't gone well at first.

After almost putting the ship onto its side with an overly aggressive tack, the argument got heated.

"I can steer a ship as well as you can! I can feel the heat and smoke better than you and react faster." Moira was at the helm with Woodrat near her and calling out orders or offering advice.

The Captain rolled his eyes. "Just like a windstorm to think they know it all. Have you ever wondered why every story where a Cyclone gets tricked and bound is because of their pride? I don't doubt you have a better sense of the smoke than I do. I'm only a wee little human with barely a breath of wind inside me. So why can I outsail you?"

"You cheat! I don't know how, but you cheat! Things always go your way."

Woodrat smiled. "Well, yes. You can call it that. But here's the secret: You can't just look for how to make the ship go faster. You also need to expect things to go wrong. Shit always happens on the smoke. A current you didn't expect turns the ship. Some beastie latches on for a ride or gets in your way. A hand doesn't pull a chain tight enough, and a sail loses some heat. You need to anticipate every way things can go wrong and make sure they don't happen. The Gods know I have enough experience seeing how things go wrong."

"Have your first mate check the sails, then check them yourself. Watch the smoke and judge the waves and currents. See where they work against you. If you can learn to see what's wrong as well as what's right, you might end up a better Captain than I am."

They argued for another two hours as the ships made their way to a rendevous with the Thunderheads.

Ozzy's plan had left everyone staring at him as if he was mad. "We need to bring along a Kraken to help out."

Cavendish held up a hand. "Here, the man out, if only for entertainment. But I don't see any of you with a legendary title to your name. Of course, he's crazy. How do you think you earn such a title?"

Ozzy explained his idea. "What made the Kraken come up to meet the Thunderheads? It's obvious they find them tasty, but how did they know? It's the cold they bring. As they drop down, full of water, they cool the smoke under them, telling the Kraken it's snack time. If we can get a Kraken near Dauntless, it will force the Thunderheads higher up, where they can't attack the ships directly. We can deal with the rain. But we can't have some of them converge on us and come lower to batter us with their winds and lightning."

Captain Shively looked interested. "But how do we bring one up? And more, keep it from eating us as well."

She had been surprised when the little ones had helped lure a cyclone near her. The ship had cooled the smoke, alerting her to its location, and the Thunderhead had pounced on the bait. Like a patient hunter, she had pounced and consumed nearly all of it. The storm had been so wet that it exploded into steam, blowing off a few of her many limbs. She hadn't minded. Once part of her, they would eventually make their way back. Except for one. She had gifted one of her limbs to the little ones. They would worship her by eating her flesh and making themselves strong. Bit by bit, she felt her flesh disappear. Nothing was as tasty as Kraken. She should know. She had hunted her own kind when there was nothing else to eat.

Part of her was calling, and she looked upward. The Thunderheads were still moving toward the new land but staying high, out of reach. But the little ones were trying to bait them down again. How kind of them. They were undoubtedly the best bait. Two of their ships now moved above her, covered in heat and fire, daring the Thunderheads to chase them, and the Cyclones had noticed. Sharthezel moved upward, following the tiny bit of herself that swam behind the cooler of the two ships. She was waiting for a chance to at another meal.

Behind her, the lesser of her kind followed. Some hoped for scraps, and others wished to hunt for their own meal. All respected the old one, and none moved past Sharthezel. They would delay until after she struck or possibly become her meal themselves.

Derek scanned the horizon, estimating the distance to the Thunderheads and calling it out. Butterbelly kept a hand on the cable holding the bait, trying to feel if anything had taken it. Unnoticed, the last few feet of uncooked tentacle moved slightly. The massive chunk of meat was hanging from a hook and chain from one of the yards. Meat rearranged itself, and the little piece of the great Kraken opened one eye and then another, keeping watch on the sky.

Behind them, large creatures grew closer to the surface. Derek could see them as darker parts of the smoke following in their wake. "We have at least one, maybe more on our tail."

Mariah turned the wheel. "We're heading to Dauntless then. Pay attention to my commands. Some of these maneuvers will throw the ship around. So make sure you're tied down tight." She pulled heat from the hull and forced it into the sails. Splinter leaped ahead over the choppy sea, leaving a long line of cooled smoke behind her. No Kraken ever had a better map leading to a meal.

Aboard Dauntless, the lookout called down. "Captain! Splinter is signaling she has fish on the hook and is coming up behind us." Captain Cavendish acknowledged the message and turned to his Captains. "It is time. Captain Ozzy, you have the wheel, and we will add to your shields. Captain Woodrat, your aura is the most powerful; we will add our own after you have reinforced the ship's shields."

Ozzy took the wheel. He wouldn't have to change course, simply keep the ship moving straight ahead. He slowly became aware of each of the dozens of sails. They interacted with each other in strange ways, passing heat back and forth and making minute changes in the sails. Just moving dead ahead seemed complex. He wondered how a Captain could handle all of this in the middle of a battle. Cavendish put his shield over the ship. Woodrat added his own shielding and then his aura. One by one, all the others did as well. The glowing shield extended out into the smoke on either side, far enough for a small ship to be covered if they could move close enough.

Splinter had moved in a wide loop, letting Dauntless take the lead, and now came up upon the slower ship. She slowed abruptly as she came aside Dauntless, matching speeds and slowly moving closer until only thirty feet separated the two ships, and she was just inside the shield. Linked now, the two ships moved ahead toward the line of Thunderheads. Dauntless had been aimed at the gap between two waterspouts, and now both moved into the gap to intercept the big ship. Lower and lower, they came, picking up speed. The seas behind the ships were clear.

Woodrat looked around the ships. "I can't help but notice our fishing expedition took the bait and ran, Captain Ozzy."

Ozzy was concerned himself. The Kraken hadn't been shy about showing up during their last encounter. "Sometimes you catch the fish, sometimes the fish catches you."

"Remind me not to go fishing with you in the conjunction!"