Chapter 22: Free Once Again

Thanks to a contractor dealing in salvaging and re-sale, Danae had been able to score a compatible airship engine for the Raven. She helped Markus and Harrisson hoist it onboard last night and then left them to the installation process while she went below to take inventory for the supply run she was on her way to do now. As she made her way down the gangplank, Danae stopped to look upon her vessel. In addition to the engine installation, Markus had stayed up all night stitching the tears in the outer envelope and ballonets inside. They were able to support most of the Raven now, and a number of the support chains had been removed. Seeing her girl on the mend lifted Danae’s spirits and gave her hope they would be in the air soon.

As she entered the aerodrome lobby, Danae pulled the lists from her pocket and went over them again. They were extensive, but necessary. The attack at Nienna’s hall in Lion's Arch had done more damage than she thought, but it was still manageable. A number of the repairs could even be done while they traveled. As she surveyed the small selection of merchants in the aerodrome, she decided to start with spare parts and wiring and save food and water for last.

“Zane, long time no see,” Danae said as she approached the first south-facing stall on the end.

The aging merchant adjusted his spectacles on the bridge of his nose and brightened as he saw Danae. He flashed her a bright smile “Well, as I live and breathe. Captain Danae Morgan! It’s been a long time, but it’s good to see you again. How can I assist?”

Zane was a favorite of Danae’s. She had dealt with him for years, and he had proven both reliable and knowledgeable of all things involving airships. Plus, he was a sweet old soul, and his prices weren’t too bad either. She produced her list and Zane stroked his frosted beard as he looked over each item.

“This shouldn’t be a problem. I have everything you need right here,” he said. “When do you need it by?”

“Yesterday.”

“I see.” Turning aside, he called out to a young girl pulling and organizing parts from a crate. “Lila, we have an order that needs to be put together immediately.”

The girl turned from her duties and took the list Zane presented her. She tucked thick strands of red hair behind her ears and read it over. When she finished, she looked up at Danae. “You either had some extensive damage or you’re expecting to,” she said.

“Perceptive,” Danae praised the girl, and then said to Zane, “teaching her well, I see.”

“Can’t have an assistant who doesn’t know the trade.” He turned and flashed Lila a proud smile. “I can say with certainty, she’s the best.”

“Then my order is in good hands.” Danae flashed Lila a smile and handed Zane a pouch of silver. “I’ll be back by shortly to pick it up.”

She continued on in search of triage and healing supplies. As Danae read over this list, she sighed. Blake was always so good at stocking the ship with necessities. She had a skill of keeping separate inventories in her mind. It wasn’t that Danae was incapable of handling an inventory, but it took more effort, and she had to write everything down. She missed Blake—for more than just her mental organization.

Sensing movement around her, Danae made a random turn around a stall at the end of the row to see if she was being followed. The individuals moved with her. She furrowed her brow and let out a disappointed grumble as she half-heartedly examined an avionic antenna for sale. She wasn’t sure who was tailing her at the moment, but she was willing to bet a whole chest of gold they were Whisper agents. She quickly rounded another stall, pretending to be interested in a series of bins filled with screws, nuts, and bolts. She snuck a glance at her followers, confirming what she had feared: they were indeed Whisper agents. There were five of them, and they didn’t make much of an attempt to hide it either. Ballsy move, Danae thought. Halvora must really want to make sure the crew and I don’t do anything rash.

Putting a bundle of bolts down, Danae moved on, keeping track of the agents moving synchronously with her. She didn’t have any way to alert her crew of the situation from where she was in the lobby. She stopped at another stall where the merchant was selling woven material from Elona. Pausing her movements gave her time to think. The Raven and her crew were supposed to be grounded, so if the agents saw them making preparations to get underway, they could all be taken in for disobeying orders. It would certainly put a damper on their plans to meet up with Nienna and her people in the Shiverpeaks and complete their mission.

Feigning interest in a dark woven piece of material hanging on a tall display stand with others, Danae slipped between a couple of them hanging on a display and then crouched behind a stack of crates filled with more fabric. Glancing around the edge of her cover, Danae waited for the agents to follow her path through the fabric display. Most of them did, but one circled around. Smart on their part, Danae thought. Still, having to engage one in a fight was better than all five. As she reached for her pistols holstered on the small of her back, she glanced around, realizing there was a larger crowd of civilians in the lobby than usual. Danae didn’t feel comfortable fighting with so much potential collateral damage around. She sighed and left her pistols in their holsters.

Okay, running it is.

Danae pushed herself away from the crates and shoved her way through a group of people huddled around a stall selling baked goods. They uttered words of surprise and curses as she passed. Danae paid them no mind, though. They weren’t after her, and the agents weren’t after them. Somewhere behind her, she heard someone call out her name. She didn’t stop to see who it was, nor did she peer over her shoulder as she ran toward the far wall. The lobby erupted in a cacophony of cries as the Whisper agents engaged in the chase.

Suddenly, a shot rang out, and a net capsule flew by Danae’s head. She watched it burst open ahead of her, spreading its ropes and weights all over an unsuspecting fish monger unpacking a crate. He fell over, the crate falling next to him and spilling the morning’s catch at his feet. The agents’ open use of weaponry of any lethality surprised Danae. But it was just a net capsule. At least they didn’t want her dead.

As soon as she neared the aerodrome wall, Danae turned to make her way along the west wall toward the Raven. She used piles of building materials as cover as another net capsule whizzed by her. She could see the Raven’s gangplank ahead. Behind her, something crashed, but she kept her eyes on where she needed to go and focused on her destination.

***

Above on the Raven, Markus dragged a warped piece of metal from the engine room out onto the bow to get rid of later. The task proved challenging, especially with his leg still on the mend. He dropped the metal on a pile of other scrap and wiped the beads of sweat on his brow with the back of his hand. Something below had stirred the people into a tizzy, and it piqued his curiosity. He peered over the rail to see what all the commotion was about. As soon as he saw what was happening, his eyes went wide, and he uttered a colorful curse.

“Harrisson!” he yelled as he hobbled toward the bridge. “Harrisson, you need to come out here!”

“What?” the gruff charr growled as he pushed himself out from under the front console. “I’d like to finish this installation today, and your interruptions are not helping.”

“Cap’n is in trouble down below,” Markus said, breathing heavy from his quick exertion of energy.

Harrisson sat up, curling his upper lip and exposing a number of sharp teeth. “Trouble?” He pushed himself up to his hindfeet and followed Markus out onto the bow. Markus pointed down below where Danae was running from the Whisper agents. “Oh hell.”

“She’s turned to head this way now,” Markus said.

With a growl, Harrisson bolted back into the bridge and came back out with both their rifles. He tossed Markus his, and the engineer caught it with both hands. “Are you sure it’s a good idea to be shooting at Whisper agents?”

Rising the rifle, Harrisson lined up a shot. “Don’t have to hit ‘em. Just deter ‘em a little.” He pulled the trigger, and the bullet ricocheted near one of the agent’s feet. They stopped and looked up at Harrisson and Markus before calling out to the rest. The group of Whisper agents altered their course slightly, aiming to cut Danae off before she could reach the gangplank.

“I don’t think they liked that,” Markus noted as he raised his rifle to line up a shot. He fired, striking the stone flooring closer to their gangplank where the agents were heading. They didn’t shy away much from Markus’ shot and continued on.

Suddenly, one of the agents produced a hand-sized item from their coat and threw it ahead of them. It landed almost half-way up the gangplank and a second later, burst into an explosion, destroying the wood around it.

“Damn it,” Harrisson growled as they watched the lower half of the gangplank shatter. “I’m seriously starting to rethink our employment with the Order.”

“Um, how’s that installation on the console coming?” Markus asked Harrison as he watched the pursuit below.

“Nearly done, why?”

Markus let go of the rifle with one hand and pointed down at Danae who had backtracked and was now heading for a section of towering scaffolding. She shouted and waved her hand in a circular motion above her head as she ran. He mimicked the motion as he looked at the charr pilot.

“Are you kidding me?” Harrisson lowered his rifle and turned toward Markus. His golden furred brow wrinkled as he narrowed his eyes. “I still need to connect the main line, otherwise, the engine will sit there spinning and have nothing to tell it what to do.”

Slinging his rifle over his shoulder, Markus started quickly hobbling toward the bridge. “We better get on it or the Cap’n is going to be in real trouble.”

***

She hoped Markus and Harrisson saw her signal. With the gangplank destroyed, Danae had to find another way up to the Raven. The builders had constructed scaffolding to reach the unfinished upper portion of the wall and seemed to be her best option. Gripping the first wooden wrung, Danae began climbing up to the next level where it ended. Quickly, she made her way along the work platform to the next ladder going up. She had made it up half way on the second level when wood shattered next to her. Splinters went everywhere, and Danae turned her head quickly to avoid cutting her face. The ladder creaked and started to sag under her weight. Heat radiated all along her side. She glanced over to find flames consuming the compromised wood planks. Without wasting another second, Danae climbed up quickly to the next platform as the flames spread below. There was nowhere else to go but up.

The whole structure creaked and groaned beneath her as it slowly started to teeter back and forth. Looking up, Danae gauged how far away the ledge on the upper wall was. Another shot rang out and wood splintered on her left. It startled her, but she forced herself to keep moving. Trying to ignore the dangers happening around her, she sped toward the next ladder and kept climbing. She was very nearly to the top when the entire structure of scaffolding leaned too far to the right. Support braces cracked, and the upper ledge started to fall. Swinging around the side, Danae used the support planks to climb up. She was not going to give up, not while freedom was a short climb away.

The sickening sound of wood cracking and splintering filled her ears as the scaffolding buckled. Even though her muscles screamed at her for rest, Danae quickly scaled the last two support pieces and launched herself up. Her hands gripped the edge of the upper walkway as the wood fell away to the lobby floor. Surprised cries erupted from below as the mess collided with stalls and equipment. Thankfully, no one was harmed, though Danae couldn’t help but wish a few planks would have landed on the Whisper agents chasing her.

Exerting as much force as she could muster, Danae pulled herself up onto the ledge and stood there for a moment, catching her breath. Her whole body ached from the climb. Looking over the edge, she watched the pile of wood burn. Between the flames, she could see the Whisper agents glaring at her. They spoke amongst themselves before disappearing. Danae breathed a sigh of relief, but she knew they’d be back.

A heavy hum filled the air and crescendoed into a familiar roar.  Danae looked over to see the Raven rising from her dock. She could have cried seeing her ship come back to life, and looking at the bow, she could see Markus releasing the last of the support chains. Reflexively, Danae held her breath for a moment, waiting to see if her ship could support herself on her own. Despite a little slowing, the Raven flew on her own.

Danae couldn’t contain her happiness, and she looked down at the Whisper agents trying to figure out how to get to her and flashed them a cheeky grin. She broke into a run along the ledge and waved at the Raven, signaling her location. The Raven turned slightly as she rose, pointing her bow toward Danae, and as soon as she got close enough, Danae made the leap from the ledge and landed in a roll on the Raven’s bow. Getting to her feet, she signaled upward as she looked at the glass covering the bridge. She couldn’t see because of the glare, but she could imagine Harrisson sitting in his seat, piloting the Raven with his usual scowl while concentrating on his duty.  

Letting out a heavy sigh, Danae looked up, watching as the Raven passed through the unfinished opening in the Lions Arch aerodrome. She felt she could touch the clouds.

Free, once again, she thought to herself.

“Thanks for the lift,” Danae said as she entered the bridge with a tired grin.

Harrisson turned in his chair and gave her a nod. “Anytime, captain. Oh, by the way, your beacon switched on. Registered it up in the Gendarran Fields. Seemed weird and thought it was a glitch, but figured I’d let you know just in case.”

Danae plopped down in her captain’s seat and sunk into the leather. “Not a glitch. Set a course to intercept before we head to the Shiverpeaks. We’ll be taking on a passenger.”