Normally, as a dockie, accessing airships was pretty easy. Docking them was hard, because we had attach them to a mooring post high in the air, and then pull them down with brute strength. But once they were down, we just popped open the cargo hatch and walked on in.

Not this time. I was trying to enter the Dragon Gang’s main airship, and I was a wanted man. If I tried to approach normally, I’d be caught for sure. I was scared to even enter the building it was docking on, because there was no way to know for sure who was working for them.

Instead, I was hiding on the roof of a building next to it. Vera had pulled their schedule, so we knew in advance where they’d be docking, and I’d camped out here the night before, hidden under a tarp so they wouldn’t see me. It was a cold and miserable place to camp, but it was better than being dead.

I waited patiently for their ship to finish its loading process and take off, then I pulled out our secret weapon: a harpoon gun.

The typical way to dock an airships was by using cables that were thrown down from the vessel itself. But occasionally, something went wrong and they weren’t able to throw down any cables. That’s when we used the harpoons. Powered by pressurized gas, it had the power to launch a metal harpoon high in the sky and sink its barbs into the hull. The back was normally attached to the mooring tower, so we could bring it down—but tonight, the only thing it was attached to was me.

I watched as the ship slowly, agonizingly passed over me. I had to wait for the perfect timing, when it was exactly overhead. If I went too early or too late, someone would see me—I needed to be directly below so that I’d be hidden from the view of anyone on their deck.

Bang!

I released the harpoon, and it thudded into their deck. Direct hit! As quickly as I could, I climbed up the rope. Then I pulled up the rope and tied it in a coil, so they wouldn’t see it dangling behind. There was no way to be sure, but I felt like no one had seen me—so far everything had gone off without a hitch.

The next step was to actually enter the ship. This was more difficult than it sounded. The cargo hold was always sealed before takeoff, for security and so that nothing would spill out. The key was with the crew up on the deck, but if I went up there they’d immediately see me, and probably kill me. So I needed find an alternative way in.

Luckily, Vera had a copy of their key. “I took the chance to make a copy of their cargo key, back when I was working for them and they let me land their boat,” she explained. “I wasn’t really planning to use it, I just thought—just in case, you know?”

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Well, it certainly came in handy tonight! The key clicked into the lock, and the ramp to the cargo hold fell open, exposing it to the outside.

I entered. Inside there were no windows, just the one entrance to see by, and it was night outside, so I could hardly see anything at all. I could vaguely see the outline of various crates, but I had no idea which one I needed.

Then a lantern flared to life. That was sort of good, since it made it much easier to see. But also sort of bad, since it was lit by a heavily tattooed and muscled man who I could only assume was part of Dragon Gang.

“Who the hell are you?” He said, with a voice that sounded like a truck driving through gravel.

Well, I can’t say I hadn’t expected something like this. So I had come prepared with one other device—a small leather bag filled with heavy rocks, known as a blackjack, which was used (Vera explained this to me) by criminal-types for giving people whacks to the head.

This goon was sitting on a crate, and he seemed to be struggling to process the situation. So, before he could figure out what was going on, I ran up and conked him on the head.

Bonk!

He staggered and fell down, out like a light. This thing really worked! And a very good thing it did, because I didn’t like my chances of taking this guy in a real fight.

Next I need to find their records. This might be the hardest task of all, since the cargo hold was jam packed with equipment, and I only had a vague idea of what I was looking for. This wasn’t at all like normal cargo—there were no crates, it had desks, safes, and filing cabinets.

I started with the safes, but they were all locked, and bolted into the hull. I could only hope the records weren’t in there. The desks had some papers, but nothing very interesting

After searching the filing cabinets though, I eventually found what I was looking for. A large, red, wooden filing cabinet, and it was completely full of books. The books, to me, just looked like incomprehensible numbers, but they were definitely accounting records. Score!

Only one thing left—the trivial matter of getting back down to the ground. I obviously couldn’t wait for them to land. I needed something a little more direct.

This world didn’t have much in the way of safety equipment, but one thing it did have was parachutes. I had never actually used one before, but Akari had reassured me that they worked fine. “You only need to pull this cord while falling, and the parachute will deploy. Please do remember to pull it,” she said.

As I stared out the opening of the cargo hatch into the night sky, I took a moment to calm my nerves. This was pretty intense. I was high above the city, so high that the buildings looked like toys, and the wind was rushing past at an alarming speed. But there was no other way. So, I gave my parachute pack one last check, tied the filing cabinet to it, gripped it as tightly as I could, and jumped out.

At first I couldn’t think anything coherent at all. My stomach was lurching, and the wind was rushing past, and all my senses were screaming “you’re going to die!” But after a moment, I sort of got used to it. It was like the falling sensation in a roller coaster—the first part was by far the most intense.

Once my head was clear, I was able to pull the ripcord on the parachute. It worked like a charm, deploying and instantly slowing my descent. It was a good thing I tied on the filing cabinet, or I would have lost my grip on it.

It was oddly peaceful, floating in midair. I could see why some people enjoyed skydiving. And since there were very few city lights in this world, I had a great view of the stars above me, mirrored by the ocean below. It was an odd contrast to the insanely dangerous stunt I had just pulled, and my heart was still pounding with adrenaline, but I tried to enjoy it as I floated back towards with city with my pressure cargo gripped in my arms.