Eletheria closed her eyes and held tightly to the wires of the remaining two lifters. The roar of several cannons being fired washed over her. She wasn’t sure what could be done with a lifter on the port side and on the front of the ship. Ele was pondering the uses as time passed waiting for the whizzing sound and impact. No impact came as Ele waited.

“They are firing at the G’Aeris ship!” Cesar yelled, his voice coming from the rear of the ship. Ele opened her eyes and turned to look at Cesar. He was standing at the end of the ship, peering through his spyglass at the G’Aeris ship, which was now close enough. Ele could see it was turning, so its battery of guns was pointed towards the balloon. Suddenly the number of incoming shots that Cesar yelled made more sense. The G’Aeris ship only had three cannons on its side because it was a small ship. The balloon was much longer and had room for more armament.

“Lex! LEX! We are saved!” Ele cried out, and she shook Lex. Lex groggily looked at her as he struggled to maintain consciousness. Ele was unsure if it was from him channeling too much quan or something else. She let him rest while she kept an eye on Cesar and the G’Aeris ship. She would be ready if they needed to turn or pull up the front of the ship.

High in the sky Ele watched as the balloon airship was moving closer to the G’Aeris airship. As the Flying Bucket was moving away from both of them. Cesar also kept an eye on both ships and occasionally shouted directions to Isaac. Occasionally, a line of white smoke would appear on one ship or the other. After the two ships traded a few volleys, the smaller airship started moving away, the larger ship gave chase. While the smaller ship could drop its elevation and build up speed, its direction and ability to turn were limited by the wind. The larger airship used a steam-powered propeller and a large balloon for lift and movement. It couldn’t drop down or rise up quickly, but it could turn in a much narrower circle. Also, with more guns, the balloon could put more shots in the air.

Dropping almost to the sea and then rising up in an almost spiral pattern, the smaller G’Aeris ship avoided most of the fire. Ele wondered if she knew the pilot, as the corkscrew tactic was impressive. Sometimes Ele saw some debris fall from the G’Aeris ship, but it was able to put enough distance between it and the other ship. The smaller ship pulled further away from the slower balloon airship in the direction back towards Ascalon.

Once the G’Aeris ship was a dot in the sky, Ele watched the balloon move in the direction of the Flying Bucket. As it flew closer, it started lowering itself until it was a hundred paces or so above the sea. Once Cesar saw them moving towards them and dropping elevation, he yelled at Isaac, “Full STOP! Drop anchor.” Cesar then looked at Ele and commented, “No way we can run from them. At least this way, they will either take us prisoner or throw us off into the sea.

Once it got close enough to make out recognizable markers, the balloon airship was the same length as the Flying Bucket. The bottom of the ship, while almost as flat, had six legs built into it so it could land on the ground without damaging its hull. The ship had a single balloon that was a little longer and wider than it hanging above it. Along each side were windows for 9 cannons, but only 5 of them were open. It had a single large cannon mounted in the front. Carved into the wood in the front of the ship was a beautiful lady holding a sword outstretched in front of her with both hands. Painted in red lettering under the lady was the name “Red Sun.” Behind it, little puffs of steam shot out as the boiler turned a turbine.

Ele looked at Lex and made sure he was still breathing. As far as she could tell, he was exhausted and slightly banged up. She stood up and, with the single crutch remaining, hobbled over to Cesar, who was looking at the incoming airship through his spyglass. As she got closer, she heard Cesar quietly laugh.

“What is funny?” Ele asked while she continued hobbling over to Cesar.

“Sorry. I’m just standing here looking at them, and I just spotted one of them standing and looking at me,” Cesar replied, putting the spyglass away. “I think I just needed to laugh after all of this.”

“Oh, are they friendly?” Ele asked.

“Not sure; the ship’s name is Red Sun. I do not recognize it,” Cesar replied as he turned around towards the rest of the ship. “Everyone stand down and do not have any weapons out when they get to us. If they wanted us dead, they would have used their big gun already.” Cesar then looked at Ele and, with a lower tone, “How is Lex?”

“I think exhaustion, something hit him on the head, but he didn’t seem off.” Ele looked back at Lex before continuing, “Should probably have the doctor look at him.”

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“We lost Jamison. One of the shots hit the room where he was setting up to help with injured once the fighting stopped.” Cesar lowered his head as he relayed the news. “I got to see how much of my crew is still in one piece.” Cesar walked off towards the stairs leading into the hold. “No weapons, don’t need them killing us after they saved us.” He yelled from inside the hold.

Ele sat near Lex’s unconscious form while waiting for the Red Sun to get close enough for them to board. Since the ship had already seen them fly, even if briefly, they would know a Windmaster or Windmistress was upon the vessel. Once the ship got close enough for Ele to make out figures in detail, she saw someone standing with a spyglass on the front looking at her. The spyglass holder had long, flowing, light brown hair that went a little past the shoulders. A dark-colored jacket with a red circle covering most of the right shoulder was clearly visible from a distance.

When the Red Sun was alongside the Flying Bucket, it stopped and hovered at thirty paces up. Several grappling hooks trailing rope were thrown, and a few caught onto the foremast of the Flying Bucket. As Cesar came out of the hold looking even more grim, he and Ele watched twenty sailors slide down the rope and drop onto the ship. Once the first group of three landed, they immediately stepped forward and waved their swords threateningly. The few of Cesar’s crew standing on the deck stood there with their hands in the air. Ele took a moment to try to decide if she should stand and put her hands up or stay sitting.

The person with the long hair also slid down a rope and landed upon the ship with a bow. As soon as they stood up, it was obvious the long-haired sailor was a woman. When she finished her bow, she took off her hat and placed it under her left arm.

“Who is the captain of this pile of junk?” she called out in a firm voice.

“That be I, M’lady, Captain Cesar Ringstmeyer,” Cesar replied, taking on a new accent and stepping forward.

“What do you call this?” she said as she waved a hand toward the aft portion of the ship.

“It be the Flying Bucket, M’lady,” Cesar replied. Immediately, the lady let out a small laugh, but it was quickly controlled, and soon after, there was no trace of a laugh.

“The Flying Bucket, you say. She looks like no G’Aeris ship I have seen,” She replied.

“She isn’t Aeris; we were running from Ascalon. We overstay’d our welcome,” Cesar said.

“Then how’d ye make her fly?” the lady asked while looking around at the various people who had come to the deck. The sailors from the Red Sun had been slowly spreading out, holding their swords in front of them.

“We have two Windmasters with us who had upset the Praestes and needed a way out.” Cesar held a hand out towards Ele and Lex. Ele instinctively looked down at Lex, seeing he was still unconscious, then looked up to see everyone looking directly at her and Lex. Ele struggled to her feet using the remaining crutch.

“I am Eletheria Zephyr, and this is Alexander Spiritus. We are fleeing my aunt, who is trying to kill us,” Ele tried to say as confidently as she could. Standing with a single crutch and a sudden lack of adrenaline, she shook a little as she stood there. A moment passed before anything else was said. The Red Sun lady took a few steps towards Ele until she was about five paces away.

“Any foe of Praestes is a friend of mine,” the Red Sun lady replied. “My name is Captain Anne Bonnie of the Red Sun, wife of the deceased Windmaster Nicodemus Zephyr.” The shock upon Ele’s face must have been evident as Ele stood there trying to close her mouth and remain standing when Anne continued in a whisper as if meant to be heard only by Ele, “I look forward to talking to you, Eel, but we must leave before a bigger ship comes back around.”

“Captain, I beg of you to help us get to land and not hurt my men,” Cesar asked while taking a hesitant step toward Anne. As soon as he took a step forward, a few of the sailors near him, holding their swords, took a few steps to place themselves between Cesar and their captain. Anne turned to look towards Cesar, and with a wave of her hand, the armed sailors took a step backward.

“I won’t harm your men. I wasn’t planning on taking them to the shore, but I’m feeling generous today.” Anne turned back towards Ele. “We need to talk; I never thought I would get to meet my sister.” Ele’s mouth was still hanging open as her mind processed everything that happened. “Is this young man your betrothed?”

“Lex, he… he’s… a good friend,” Ele was able to say finally. “You knew Nico?”

“Aye, and I knew Ty, though he didn’t like me as much. We can swap stories later.” Anne turned away from Ele and looked back at Cesar. “Captain, if you would ensure all your men are here, we will bring them aboard the Red Sun. Also, my men will double-check your ship for any useful cargo or supplies.”

Cesar looked around at everyone on the deck. The seven sailors and Isaac were the remnants of his crew. “Lady, this is it,” He said as he halfheartedly waved a hand around. Almost half of his men were gone and still not free.

Anne shouted commands to her men, and soon, they were searching below the deck for supplies or anything of value. One of the ropes that people had used to travel down to the Flying Bucket had a second rope attached to it. Using a net and a hook, they were able to lift Ele and Lex up to the Red Sun. Cesar and his crew joined them later.

Ele and Lex were split off from Cesar’s group and led to a room built into the aft castle. The room only had a single bed and a chair, but Ele imagined it was better than anything Cesar’s group was in. There was a window, but it was more of a hole in the wall that allowed Ele to look out behind the airship. The sailors placed Lex on the bed, and Ele sat in the chair. Once the sailors left the room, Ele was left alone with only an unconscious Lex and her thoughts. Somewhere under the room or near them, a rhythmic thumping could be heard and slightly felt through the wood.

The fact that her brother Nicodemus had a wife still stunned her. No one in her family ever talked about Nico marrying anyone. No one ever really talked about her brothers at all. Ele searched her memories for what she was told regarding her brothers’ deaths and couldn’t find anything. Ty and Nico had gone on a mission to the south to trade and explore a possible new trade route. The ship had made it there and was on its way back when attacked. Though they had won, during the battle, a cannon shot hit the forecastle steering room and killed both Nico and Ty. The ship limped home on a trainee Windmaster after jettisoning everything unnecessary.

Looking at Lex, Ele wished he was awake to ask him questions. Perhaps he knew something or could remember additional details. Though if Nico had married, would not Sal have known? Was this something hidden from even Sal? The sadness of Sal’s passing and the fact that she did not know what happened to her brothers drained her. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes to focus on her memories. The thumping from below was peaceful somehow, and as the little vibrations rocked the ship, Ele soon fell asleep.