The officer turned from his study of Jupiter to look into the bottom of the hull. The gems were now obvious in the dark, especially next to the kheel where both the disk and gems glowed brighter.

‘Good man.’ The officer reached down and took two — with one hand. Again the alienness of these people startled Jupiter. The manisaur held both gems between his two thumbs. In the bright Eoth moonlight the green gems seemed more blue somehow. Then, before he could do anything, the manisaur had slipped four zharaqsa gems into the pocket of his black jacket.

He turned to Jupiter. ‘Now. Can this strange craft take me to the Vanukam. I would have me a Vanziyaq skyfort of my own…’

‘I’m going nowhere with you.’ Jupiter glared at the officer as if he had an aura of his own. The two other crew lay on either side on the outrigger platforms. At least they knew not to unbalance the boat.

‘Your bravery is commendable.’ The officer studied Jupiter. ‘The Hammer’s Head — Ganarasha said as much. But we have no time. The navy will rally now the attack is known to all.’

‘What?’ Jupiter stared. The manisaur gazed back with an intensity that made his heart thump in his chest.

‘And the rising storm. The fleet will cast off in any event, attack or no. They would not risk Vanziyaq to the pylons in this storm.’

‘You want a skyship?’

‘Yes. A skyfort… or a skycutter at least.’

‘You know Gan? Whose side are you on?’

‘The rebels… if you would believe me.’ The officer stared at Jupiter as if by force of character he could compel obedience. Perhaps he usually could. His aura pulsed with confidence authority.

Just then Tamm reared up next to the officer, his knife raised. The officer twisted away, dropped, and reached for their long blade ready to leap and strike.

‘Stop,’ shouted Jupiter. ‘Hold. Leave him alone.’

‘Dhakara. I obey,’ said Tamm.

‘I see you have a turned-blade… sejrat’sha.’ The officer raised himself onto his haunches, his backwards knees jutting out. ‘Gan said you were a surprising human. And nuvra at that, which is hard to believe.’

Jupiter recognized the navy officer now. He had been on Black Spire, had captured and let Qhawana escape before chasing Berg in an Imperial skyship. He remembered he had a staff with blue feathers.

‘You were at Black Spire, and captured Qhawana. But you were a rebel all along?’ Jupiter studied the officer still unsure if he could be trusted. Why would he?

‘Indeed. I am myself sejrat’sha… though turned by conscience.’ The officer steadied themselves and stared at Tamm. ‘But we need to make all speed. Gan is making his move. Time to make mine while I can still find crew.’ He ordered three of his troupe to remain onboard, the others to stay ashore and return to the main rebel forces. That meant there were seven on The Jupiter once more.

Jupiter sighed. ‘Will no one ever fill me in? I feel like a bus driver.’

The officer cocked their head at his words. ‘You make little sense at times. Joopah. I am called the Water-of-Faith.’

‘Faithful Waters… Vishvasalana… A bit ironic that. If you are a turned-blade.’

‘Indeed.’ Water-of-Faith directed his remaining crew to push the outrigger off the landing. ‘There is deeper waters to be faithful to however.’

Jupiter thought on this. ‘I can’t call you Faithful Waters.’ He aimed The Jupiter to open water once more. It came to him that in Thaluk, at least, an underlying sense to the word faith referred to the aura — Visha — colored. So faith meant true colored, or straight talker… or something. He shook his head. How had he come to understand that connection? Connexion — tulanvarqa. He laughed as he shook his head at the strangeness of it all.

‘More like muddy water… this place is crazy.’

He gybed The Jupiter, and felt satisfied when he heard the squawks from his new passengers.

‘Some call me bow of water…’

‘Rainbow — Vishanti?’

The officer stared at him. ‘Just so.’

Jupiter saw evidence then of connexion at work once more. ‘But you’re a warrior. Rainbow is for unicorns, and hippies, and…’

He hauled in the sail and searched the waters. The moon had risen high now, but scudding cloud covered it as the storm approached. ‘Where away?’

Officer ‘Rainbow’ pointed away off to starboard. Near where the skyforts had crashed.

‘Rainbow? No way.’ Jupiter smiled then. ‘Bowman… Dhanuka.’

The officer snorted. ‘Dhanuka? I am no mere archer.’

‘Dahk then.’ The word could be thought as a short form of Dhakara — leader. Jupiter raised his hand to shut the officer down. ‘If Ganarasha can be called Gan by his crew… then I think you can take Dahk from me.’

The officer fell silent, but a ripple of what Jupiter took as suppressed laughter came from the two crew and he wondered if Dahk, or the strange reverse word Khad, meant something rude — it sort of did in English even. Perhaps Maggie would know.

How had he become so involved in the rebellion, but now so far from his only friend?

‘The plan is to take one of the moored vessels,’ Faithful Waters said — Dahk said. ‘They will not be guarded as well. But we have the means to raise them with the crystals.’

‘But how will we manage with such a small crew?’

‘We will not sail her. Just get her off the water. The storm will carry her away. That is enough. We will arrange a larger crew once the storm has abated. Gan is readying to follow. Now.’ Dahk pointed. ‘Aim to the left side of that crashed Vanziyaq skyship. There are other vessels that lie moored nearby for the taking.’

‘We can’t do that. No time now,’ Jupiter said. ‘The storm winds have grown too strong.’

‘Joopah. There is indeed no time. Now sail…’ The rest of Dahk’s words and aura were lost as a wave washed over them.

‘Breeze,’ said Jupiter. ‘Spin up the kheel. Let’s get going.’ He set the sail to the wind.

The imp slipped to the centre of the hull, eying the new manisaurs with distrust in his every glance. But he did his work and the hulls rose free of the sea, the rudders tore the water to foam. Jupiter hoped they would not hit any submerged debris.

‘Tamm. Keep a lookout for anything in the water ahead of us.’

‘I watch Dhakara.’ Tamm gazed ahead and Jupiter saw the back of the manisaur’s head. The feathers outlined by the glow from the rising moon ruffled in the wind.

Jupiter spilled as much wind from the sail as he could, and angled the outrigger across the wind. Despite the kheel he could feel them slipping sideways in the press of the storm. He adjusted their angle and they crabbed closer to the centre of the Vanukam naval docks once more. They were close to where he had landed Gan and his crew.

‘Perhaps we can get in,’ Jupiter said. ‘We can try at least.’

Dahk searched for a place to land his men.

Jupiter reasoned that here at least The Jupiter lay sheltered from the wind next to the hulking naval structures, the pylons, and downed skyships. And the waves were smaller than those out in the centre of the Narushkam. Yet they would still have to get away from shore before the storm landed full on the harbour. But he had no idea where safety might lie, and why he followed Dahk now — but he at least he didn’t need to make a decision of where to flee next.

A wave broke over the hulls, and they rocked. Even as The Jupiter flew above the water, it still reached up for them. The sail tipped over in a gust. They skidded down towards the water with the outrigger platforms angled down. The wind battered the underside of the hulls as they fell. The manisaurs clung prostrate on the decks. Breeze spun up the kheel with both feet clamped on the edge of the platform, one hand to the hull. The imp held his head down to the wind and water and worked to keep them airborne.

Then they settled level, Jupiter hauled in the sail to get them moving again, then released it to spill wind when a gust hit.

‘I can get you under that big building there,’ yelled Jupiter. Dahk leaned close. ‘I can’t point…’ Jupiter worked both his hands to manage the steering and the mainsheet to balance the wind and water. ‘That big one dead ahead. We will need to tack. But under the lee of that… we should be sheltered… I hope.’

‘Agreed.’ Dahk came close. ‘There is a vessel to the left. It will do. I had hopes… but it is not to be.’

Jupiter drove them closer to the wind. Something hit the rudder and they spun into the wind. He used the momentum to change tack, and steadied them on the opposite direction.

‘Joopah…’

‘Yes. I know. But let me be Vam’lama… I’m the captain and I will get you there.’ Jupiter twisted them back onto the other tack once more, as spray stung his eyes, and rolled down his face. They were close. The wind gusted then, and they heeled over. But the pressure fell away just as fast. They had reached the wind shadow under the building. He saw now that it held a huge skyship under repair. Rain fell in sheets now.

‘Breeze. Bring her back to the water.’

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‘Joopah… what do you?…’

‘Paddle. In this crazy wind I can’t sail. The wind keeps changing direction.’ He let the sail flap. He wanted to lower it from the mast but there remained no time — or space.

Dahk’s crew were sailors who paddled well, and they were soon up under the side of the building. A long floating dock stretched the length of the structure. It rocked and bobbed about like a horse in the waves. The crew swung off, one held The Jupiter until Dahk stepped ashore.

Dahk pulled a gem from his pocket. ‘With this we can power a vessel, and so take flight. You have the rest.’

‘Why? If they are so important… take more.’

‘You have won them. And we may yet fail ourselves. You are a strange one, with a strange vessel. But you have shown that individuals can make a difference when they empower others to achieve their goals. Thank you Vam’lama Upariqami. May fate smile on you.’

‘Where’s Gan?’ Jupiter cried out as the crew pushed The Jupiter away.

‘He sails a vanziyaq, a pirate no more, but a captain with a crew. There.’

Jupiter raised his eyes. High above Narushkam floated a huge skyship. It had few sails but it moved at speed away in the wind.

‘We will gather our forces in the lee of the island, then we sail for Luminous Peaks… Hatunqari.’

‘Great. And how am I to get there?’

‘As the gods will. And your sejrat’sha will know. But sail for Shavaqa - the neck. They will raise the chain to prevent vessels from sailing through. You have to get through before they do.’

Then The Jupiter drifted away, the raging winds held them then. It took all Jupiter’s efforts do to keep them level in the water, but with all the control of an autumn leaf in the wind.

Jupiter could do nothing to keep them safe except set the sail so as much wind spilled out, they would capsize otherwise, even with the kheel to steady them. He wanted to reduce the sail, make it smaller. But the storm roared upon them now. Alone he had to keep sailing, and Breeze had to keep them above the worst of the waves.

There was no one else to help him. Somehow, in this raging storm he had to find refuge for him and the others - these passengers. He had never liked the idea of others having to depend upon him. They were a drag. But he had no choice now. They were in the storm together but it was all up to him alone to save them. But the impossibility of a future receded into the distance. Now, in this moment, he needed to keep them alive even as the wind raged, waves piled up, and the darkness drew closer all around.

In the last storm he had sheltered under the hull of his Starling on Black Spire Island. That seemed an age ago now. Since then he had discovered the strangeness of this world, met new friends, and enemies who somehow had become allies.

And Maggs.

‘You were right,’ Jupiter said to himself. ‘This is crazy. I’m out of my depth alone. When you are with me I’m stronger somehow.’

Breeze spun the kheel, even tired the imp kept up the pace.

‘And Breeze.’

Without him now to spin the kheel that would be low in the water, water tumbling aboard, the hull tilted over in the wind. Instead they skimmed amidst a foaming mass of water and air. They bounced then and they rose in flight again.

Jupiter leaned far out to the rear of the outrigger to keep the rudders in the water, to maintain control. No chance of a nosedive like his Starling, but he needed to keep steering at all costs. They powered forward so fast the wind seemed to still as they raced as fast as it blew. He angled across the storm, not outracing it. But defying it.

‘Tamm and Breeze are relying on me. I have to do this. No one else will save me. Will save us.’ Jupiter glanced at Tamm on the windward side of the outrigger balancing the weight, and Breeze steadfast at the kheel. ‘I don’t like having people rely on me, but I’ve no choice. Except aren’t I relying on them too?’

A gust rocked the outrigger and Breeze hooted in alarm, Tamm leaned to counteract the heel of the boat as Breeze spun the kheel up in a blur then fell back panting for air.

‘They’re doing their best to help. We can do this together… if I can find a safe place to get us to.’

Where was Shavaqa? The neck of water that joined the inner harbour to the ocean. It would be treacherous in this wind, but if they blocked the passage then he would be stuck here for goodness know how long. To try to land near Narushkam with this wind blowing would be madness too. They would be dashed upon the shore. He had to get out and away from wind and pursuit. Open ocean would be better than to be pounded into the sides of the inner harbour.

He didn’t like to think what it might be like to be at sea in the storm though. Perhaps he could find a way to turn into the wind, and in the lee of the island find a place sheltered enough to weather the storm. More scared than he could remember, he glanced at Breeze at work the kheel. If not for the imp they would already be bashed and broken in the waves that now had grown large enough to sometimes slap at the undersides of the hull.

The rain and spray were as one with the wind. Water flowed over his face, and blurred his eyes.

Where could Shavaqa lie?

Then ahead and to port he made out some lights. The two lighthouses either side of the opening shined bright through the storm. Above more skyships fled the storm. The raging storm would throw the floating vessels across the ocean, scattering them to the wind. Which were manned by rebels and which navy?

‘Dhakara,’ Tamm might have been shouting for some time. Jupiter could not hear much over the fury of the storm. ‘Dhakara.’

Tamm now pointed upwards and Jupiter saw it then. A smaller skyship. And it flashed a bright light. Not very often but with regularity. He stared at it. If not for Tamm he would have missed seeing it.

‘Three longs, three shorts, three longs… repeating…’ Jupiter stared. Maggie had tried to teach him some morse code but even he knew enough to know this what it meant. S-O-S. But the skyship flew on, were they in danger? If anyone was in danger, he was.

‘It must be Maggs.’ The signal repeated. ‘She must be trying to catch my attention even if she is using the code wrong.’

Then he saw a light swinging under the skyship. ‘A glow globe on a rope.’

It took him a moment to work out they were trying a rescue. He was not alone. They were not alone. Someone wanted to help him, and Tamm, and Breeze.

‘How can they help from up there?’

Just then a gust swung them, and the skyship suddenly swung up, even as angled to came lower. Jupiter focussed again on his heading. He glanced at Tamm. The rescued manisaur kept his arm pointed at Maggie’s skyship.

‘I knew I should have…’

He had no real idea what he should do, but trying to sail a freaking flying Starling across an alien planet in a raging storm was…

‘Utter madness.’ Jupiter laughed like a crazy thing then. ‘Crazy-as.’

Tears and rain and sea and everything whirled around him. More alive than he had ever experienced, determination steeled him even as hope burned brighter.

He angled the speeding outrigger across the wind straight at the skyship and the swinging glow-globe. Some quirk of the wind swirling from the Chilakam hills made the wind blow them both towards Shavaqa. He saw then as they drew near that the skyship now flew lower than the lighthouses as they brought the rope as close to the water as possible.

The S-O-S flashes had changed.

‘Long long short… long short short…’ Jupiter said. ‘What does that mean?’

He twisted his body as The Jupiter shimmied in a gust.

Tamm shouted then. He pointed right ahead, the Shavaqa lay close ahead now. It had taken only minutes to sail across the expanse of harbour. He blinked in the spray. Another glow globe swung in the air. But he could not see a skyship to carry the light. More of them stretched in a row. His eyes ran along the line.

A whole string of lights, close to the water.

‘The chain is already across the neck to stop anyone leaving. To stop us leaving.’

The chain of lights would hit The Jupiter’s mast. Even as he watched the rope that hung from Maggie’s skyship struck the rope, the glowglobes swayed and the skyship swung low.

‘It’s been caught.’ Jupiter watched horrified at it began to fall. Then it bounced up high again, and the swinging glow globe fell into the sea as the crew cut the rope.

The barrier line had come close now. And The Jupiter streaked straight for it. Jupiter could not turn them into the wind. He angled to port a little then, but even though the line of lights rose higher near shore, still not enough height remained to sail under the barrier.

He aimed for the centre of the line of lines, where the dip in the barrier brought it closest to the water.

‘Tamm,’ Jupiter shouted. ‘Tamm!’ The manisaur kept their gaze forward. ‘I hope you’re wearing your seatbelt?’ The speed The Jupiter made scared him. ‘We’re going to fly.’

A gust heeled them over and Breeze became frantic in his slapping at the kheel to spin it up. An idea flashed in Jupiter’s mind’s eye of how to do it better, but he shook his head. He focussed again on the now of the reality around him.

‘Breeze. Get Tamm’s attention.’ Jupiter leaned back to keep the nose up when Breeze moved forward. Tamm stared. Jupiter gestured with his head, he could not take his hands from the mainsheet and tiller. Tamm had focussed into a far infinity.

‘Come back here,’ Jupiter shouted.

Breeze tugged at Tamm and the manisaur jumped to obey. Breeze followed and gave a mighty spun to the kheel, and he too came to join Jupiter. Together the three of them leaned back as far as they could, it brought the bow of The Jupiter angling upwards, the rudders at first dug into the water. Breeze slipped forward and spun the kheel hard, and then even faster. The momentum changed in a sudden lurch as The Jupiter shot from the water. Fear struck Jupiter as the rudders left the water but he worked the mainsheet to twist the sail. He kept it full and directed the outrigger downwind.

He hung out to port, way out over the outrigger float’s edge to roll the mast to one side, the others joined him. Jupiter tried to keep the middle of the force on the sail balanced over the centre of mass for the hull. To stop the sail and hull turning. To keep them straight. The spin of the kheel thrummed through the hull as it fought to keep upright, but like a bike it settled into the new angle. And they arrowed up and forward.

He tried not to think of the danger, if they hit the barrier, if they spun out of control, the spiral down into the dark raging waters of the stormy harbour. He instead willed The Jupiter to fly higher.

A sudden thump knocked them from under the hull. They struck something. The barrier? But the line of lights now fell below the bow. He could not see the chain’s glowglobes now. In that instance he knew they would be lost, but then a gust hit, and they were pushed up in a sudden spin. But up.

They were over the barrier.

The sail cracked like a whip in the sudden change in direction. Breeze at the kheel spun with frantic energy. And they steadied. Jupiter pulled the sails tight once more, heeled the mast and sail over, and bore away from the wind. Then they were on the water again. Bounces hit them on every other wave, they bounded along in a scudding angle away from the Shavaqa and the barrier chain.

He searched for Maggie’s skyship. The light flashed without a discernible pattern now. Jupiter vowed to learn morse code for real this time. Then the rope swung down again, on the end hung a manisaur holding a glowglobe. They came lower. Jupiter veered towards them, the outrigger hulls in the water now, mostly. They still had enough lift to overtop the waves.

Jupiter found it hard to maintain a straight route across the waves towards the dangling manisaur. Then the sea went white with chaotic water. They had hit the shallows of the neck now revealed by the tide as moon and storm conspired together. Jupiter made a sudden correction away from the chaos of the shallows and close towards the swaying manisaur. As the swings and motion matched the manisaur fell onto the outrigger platform. The manisaur wrapped and tied off the rope about the main hull near the mast and then disappeared up the rope.

‘If you think…’

Tamm had reached the rope and now his aura flashed, and beseeched his Dhakara to follow.

‘No way am I…’

But then the rope tightened and The Jupiter pitched backwards. He understood then what they had done.

‘Breeze… hold on.’

The Jupiter swung until it dangled by the mast. Breeze didn’t hold on, instead he climbed to the base of the mast and undid the halyard to lower the sail.

‘Good idea. But you should be holding on,’ Jupiter shouted. He grabbed for the hull. The green gems slid, but the mud and muck held them in a single mass, slipping over the bottom of the hull where they gathered in the stern, stuck under the hull’s frame.

Jupiter wrapped the mainsheet around his body, and looped a bowline knot in the line. His shaking hands eased their grip as his shoulders caught in the loop. He had reached a kind of safety once tied to The Jupiter.

‘Or I’ll go down with her.’ He even grinned as he said it.

The Jupiter swayed less and less as the rope pulled them higher. The wind gusted but the power and force of it had gone. Soon he could see the crew of the skyship intent on hauling them up.

‘This is epic!’ Jupiter whooped.

Tamm had climbed part way up the supporting rope. Breeze clung to the boom holding the sail tight. But Captain Jupiter swung like a sack of potatoes on the end of a rope that banged against the deck.

Below him the sea and the island of Zenska fell away as the wind reduced further to random gusts. His eyes fell to the raging maelstrom of the neck’s shallows. Amazingly, amongst the waves a pod of mantas sported. They jumped and flapped across the foaming shallows as if enjoying themselves. And then they flew off, as much out the water as in it.

He and his passengers had reached a refuge from pursuit.

And The Jupiter too. He had no idea how the crew would get the outrigger off the rope again. Breeze clambered down the main hull, past the kheel to hang next to Jupiter. Together they spun, rotated, and banged against the hull. Then The Jupiter steadied. Tamm had a hold of another rope and secured it to the starboard outrigger float.

He felt immense relief and thankfulness that these alien people cared for him, had risked their lives to kept him safe and alive. He reached out a arm and pulled Breeze close. The warm feather fur tickled his cheek and he breathed in the musky odor of his friend.

‘Thank you Breeze.’

The imp squeezed him back. And it was enough.