Starfinder

SITTING DUCKS

JUST FOUR THIN LINES TETHERED the gigantic Avatar to the earth. Every time the wind blew, the ropes groaned and pulled at their spikes. Crews manned the guns jutting from the airship’s envelope and atop her observation deck, scanning the horizon for trouble. The thousand bits of glass had been swept from her bridge, but the gaping hole left by the shattered window remained.

Rendor watched as Bottling descended a metal ladder hanging from the airship’s superstructure. The engineer had spent nearly an hour inspecting the damaged engine. Amazingly, Alisaundra had managed to break off one of the engine’s four propeller blades, unbalancing the Avatar and forcing an emergency landing. The crew had spent the night staking the airship down and cleaning up what damage they could. While they worked, Skyhigh began searching for Fiona. The Skyknight had returned a short time ago—empty-handed.

“Well?” Rendor called.

Bottling shook his head. “Not good.” He jumped from the ladder, landing close to the Governor. “All the other blades have fractures.”

Rendor took a handkerchief from his vest and handed it to Bottling. “How big?”

“Big enough,” said Bottling as he wiped his grimy hands. “We could push it, but there’s a good chance they’ll snap off at speed.”

Commander Donnar, who’d been directing the repair efforts, overheard Bottling’s assessment. “The prop is useless that way anyway,” he said. “Three blades? We’re better off shutting it down.”

“One engine,” groaned Rendor.

“She can fly with one,” Donnar pointed out.

“Sure,” said Bottling. “Or we could walk home. Be just as quick.”

None of them smiled at the joke.

“Balance it out,” said Rendor. “Saw off the middle blade. We’ll adjust the thrust from the bridge.”

Bottling nodded as if he already knew Rendor’s decision. “Can do.” His face went into an unhappy smirk. “Speaking about the bridge…”

“I know.”

The three men moved toward the front of the Avatar, where the real damage waited. Creating such a large span of glass had taken scientific wizardry, and there was no way they could replace the glass without returning home. Although the Avatar could fly with an open bridge, it would make steering her vastly more difficult in strong winds, and high altitudes would require heavy clothing. And, of course, there was foul weather to consider.

“Ideas?” asked Rendor.

“A tarp,” said Donnar. “That’s all we can do for now.”

“We need to be able to see where we’re going,” said Rendor.

“We’ll use netting,” Bottling suggested. “Instead of just cutting holes in the tarp, we’ll sew it with squares of netting. Not too big—just enough to see through.”

“Nets,” groaned Rendor. “Thank god the weather here is warm.” He looked up at the sky, blessing the bright sun.

“All right, Bottling, get started on the prop. And form a detail to start on the tarp. I’ll start thinking about how to mount it.”

The engineer handed Rendor his now-filthy handkerchief back and went to work. When he’d gone, Rendor said softly, “Erich, let’s post some patrols around the ship. Until we’re aloft again, we’re sitting ducks.”

Donnar checked the sky. “How long before they come, do you think?”

Rendor shrugged. “A few days. Maybe less. First they’ll watch us for a while, try to figure out how strong we are.”

“We should get Skyhigh into the air, too,” suggested Donnar. “Have him run some patrols to the south.”

“Find him for me, will you, Erich? I want to talk to him.”

As the commander departed, Rendor allowed himself an unguarded moment. Since the attack, there hadn’t been time to think about Fiona or Moth. Rendor liked being busy. It kept him from feeling afraid. Now that it was quiet, all his fears rushed at him.

Across the field, Skyhigh’s dragonfly glistened in the sun. Rendor smiled, remembering the thrill of seeing his invention take flight for the first time. He crossed the tall grass and went to the craft, sad to see its battered fuselage and hastily repaired wings. Still, it was beautiful to Rendor. He ran his hands over it as though it were his child.

“Governor?”

Skyhigh’s voice carried across the field. The young man, handsome and blond, wore a scarf around his neck, his leather flight jacket as beat-up as his dragonfly. He pulled on his gloves as though readying for takeoff.

“Commander Donnar told me you wanted to see me,” he said. “If it’s about Fiona, I promise—I’ll do my best to find her.”

Rendor had to force himself to say his next words.

“No more searching for Fiona, Captain.”

Skyhigh blinked in disbelief. “No?”

Rendor reached into his pocket and took out his watch. He ran his thumb over its embossed surface before popping it open.

“The Skylords aren’t going to let us out of here,” he said without looking up. “They’ll try to keep us from going home, pin us here against these mountains. Until we can get the Avatar airborne again, we’re vulnerable.”

“All right, but…”

“We need your dragonfly. You’ll be our eyes while we’re grounded. I need you to run patrols back the way we came, see if the Skylords or their Redeemers are starting to gather. Daylight flights only.”

“Sir?”

“Hmm?”

“When the Avatar’s repaired, are we going home?”

Rendor snapped the watch closed. “We haven’t gotten any of the things we came here for,” he said. “Not Fiona, not Moth, and not the Starfinder. No, Captain. We’re not going home.”

Skyhigh beamed at the news. “Good.” He glanced down at the watch. “Nice watch. Real gold?”

“A gift,” sighed Rendor. “From my daughter.” He patted the tail of Skyhigh’s dragonfly. “She gave it to me the day I first got one of these contraptions to fly. I suppose she was proud of me.”

“Fiona talked about her a lot,” said Skyhigh. “She loved her very much.”

Rendor put the watch back in his pocket. Talking about his daughter was something he rarely did. It was easier just to look at the watch.

“Fiona’s a lot like her,” he said. “Strong. Beautiful.”

Skyhigh looked at him strangely. “Beautiful?”

“Yes. Fiona’s very beautiful. Don’t you think so?”

“It’s not that, sir,” said Skyhigh. “It’s just… have you ever told her that, Governor?”

“Why would I?” asked Rendor. “She hates me. She doesn’t believe a thing I say.”