MV 6 Snippet 4

 Sitrep: So, I finished the cover to the Roo Collective:

That book is a collection of the 3 stories with the ending of the saga. It is currently a one off, though I toyed with ideas to expand it. Who knows what the future might hold? After all, Bootstrap Colony and PRI were both supposed to be 1 offs...

Anyway, on to the snippet!

The following is in the aforementioned PRI/Bootstrap universe. It actually takes place during the last PRI book.

A Pirate's Life

Captain Ahmad used the spyglass to check the rigging of the prey ship carefully in order to gauge their intentions and course of travel. Not much had changed from his last inspection.

The ship was Caliopean. It was slow; his ship was lighter and faster.

His lips curved in a smile at that. They’d eat well tonight, he thought. If the other managed to try to avoid him, perhaps in the night or in the early morning. The longer they made him wait, the more they’d suffer later.

His professional eye turned to his black sails. They were taut. The winds were right; he would overhaul the prey soon enough.

He put the spyglass carefully away in the well-oiled, leather-lined wooden case. He closed the lid and latched it shut.

~~~\^/~~~

 

Off the coast of Argos

 

Ginger Lewis wasn't quite bored with her assignment with the Coast Guard. She had served as the instructor for the two pilots and had certified them qualified to fly the bird. She was just on hand to enjoy some stick time since one of the pilots had overindulged the evening before.

Below, the endless sea was there, sparkling occasionally in the sun. The further out from the coast they went the less traffic they saw. She did pick up on the current; you could tell the difference by the color change in the water. There was also a section that had to be some sort of thermal break, though she wasn't certain.

They hadn't brought any science geeks who studied the seas. That was probably a good thing considering some of the things she'd seen. Like the alien Plesiosaurs that had been using their long necks to grab pterosaurs out of the air or seals off the beach or whatever was in the depths that snacked on them.

She hoped fervently that the bird she was in never went in for a water landing.

The bird was a modified DC-3 variant colored in white and red markings. It had sensors all over it to get information about the weather. There were extra antenna and radios in order to send signals out. They could also boost signals from ships. A long line from their rudder to an antenna behind the cockpit windows was a large antenna.

The bird also had gear to drop to ships in distress and of course protection against lightening. Its ice and cold weather gear was crude though, so they knew that they were going to be restricted on the amount of flying they did in the winter and in inclement weather.

Ginger was taking notes. She had a lot of recommendations for the Coast Guard and their next budget submission. They were due a budget at least equal to this year's thanks to the lobbying of the sea communities. She knew another bird was planned, but there were people who wanted a heavy lift long-range chopper.

She had her doubts about that coming through so she was hoping they'd settle on making improvements to what they had and expanding with lighthouses and buoys and such.

“Ship,” a voice said over the VOX, making her blink. She oriented on the voice. “Clipper,” the voice said. It was the cargo master.

“Which side?” she demanded as she keyed her mike.

“Ah, left, I mean  …”

“Got it,” she said as she banked slightly and picked up the shape of a clipper. “Two ships,” she corrected. One ship was smaller and chasing the first. It had black sails.

She spiraled the bird around them in an orbit as they picked out details.

“The point ship is flying the colors of the Grand Duchy of Caliope,” her copilot said after some study with the binoculars.

“Document it?” she asked.

He grimaced but then fumbled the crude camera Max had sent along to try to zoom in and get a shot of the ship for their records.

“I think the trailer is a pirate,” the cargo master Ducky said. She called him Ducky because he had a name that started with a D and he was cute when he blushed.

“It's not one of ours, and it's not from Medicini,” the copilot said. He started to bumble around noisily. Ginger took her eyes off the ships to see her copilot digging out a small book from the small drawer between their seats. It was on the back of the throttle controls.

He flipped through it and then looked through the binoculars and then at the book. He checked a few things.

“Get some pics,” Ginger reminded him.

He grimaced but did so.

“Not Medicini. It's not Duluth either. I don't know who they are.”

“They aren't friendly,” the cargo master said. “Both ships have all of their sails out, even a couple of extra from the look of things. But the black ship is steadily gaining ground. The sailors on the Caliopean ship don't look happy.”

“Crap. Take the bird,” Ginger said.

Her copilot took his yoke. “I have the bird,” he said shaking it. She felt the shake and let go. She reached over and took the book and binoculars off his lap and used them to study the ships.

“Nope, not happy. Are they waving at us?” she asked.

“I guess so,” Ducky replied.

She tried to fumble the binoculars in front of the camera to add an extra lens to them but it came out blurry. She grimaced and gave up on that idea.

“What do we do?”

“We don't have a weapon on this tub other than the flare guns,” Ducky complained.

“If we'd set her up as a gunship, then our range would have been a quarter what it is,” Ginger stated.

“Okay, so, what do we do?” Ducky asked. “Sit and watch?”

She thought about it and then smirked. “I don't think so.” She put the binoculars and other items in the drawer and then took the controls. “My bird.”

“Your bird,” the copilot echoed formally.

“Ducky, strap in. We're going to have a little fun,” Ginger said.

“I know that voice,” Ducky said dubiously. Ginger giggled as she tipped the plane in a hard bank and lost altitude as she spiraled down.

“You are insane!” her copilot said, gripping the oh-shit bar and side of his seat as she dipped down and buzzed the pirate ship. Ginger snorted.

She banked away and then did it again a moment later, this time going a little lower.

“Keep an eye on the altimeter and the fuel,” She ordered.

“Two hundred meters, fifty-five,” he stated instantly.

She buzzed the ship again from a different angle, even lower and the wind from their travel hit the sails and threw the ship off course and nearly capsized her.

The Caliopean ship got away as the pirate pulled their sails in and drifted rocking.

“You're welcome,” Ginger said, waving to the Caliopean ship as they waved up to her.

She turned to look at her copilot. “Well! That was fun!”

He gaped at her and then chuckled.

The aircraft spiraled away and then she remembered to report the incident over the radio.

~~~\^/~~~

Captain Ahmad was frightened by the encounter but also furious. He glared in the direction of the departing flying thing. He had just barely managed to reef his sails in order to keep from capsizing. He got his ship back under way and then went below to his cabin to draw and write what he had seen while it was still fresh.

The crew kept a low profile for some time afterward, not willing to set him off and feel the lash of his tongue or his quirt.

~~~\^/~~~