What did the blackbirder captain mean? What hunt?

They returned to the deck of the blackbirder’s skyship. Zaj followed meekly, her eyes fixed on the back of her captor.

‘Zaj? Are you okay?’ Jupiter said in a whisper.

She turned, looked at him but returned to her study of the blade in its scabbard across the blackbirder’s back.

Right. We should stay quiet.

Jupiter figured Zaj just waited for an opportunity to take the blackbirder leader’s long blade — tarusha. It would be pointless him trying, the handle only fitted the two thumbed hand of a manisaur.

‘They approach.’

Jupiter turned to where the blackbirder leader looked. The sun had set. The sky now shifted to a deep blue purple with the first stars winking above the dark harbor. A trio of dhomqari pulled a carriage lit by glow-globes from pylons of The Way. The two legged moasaur draft animals trotted along the dockside praya — the hard standing next to the wharves. Jupiter saw the flash from the Air Lord’s webbing in the yellow glow-globe light. A troop of navy marines ran escort alongside.

They approaching party ran close to the wall and disappeared from sight behind the stone battlement.

‘You see? The Air Lord will be pleased. We have taken a great haul of quevantaq traitors. And culled many humans.’

Jupiter jumped at that. He knew what cull meant. Harvest. Population control. Killing.

‘Ah. Little bird. You don’t like the implications of that do you? Do not fear though. You are too scrawny. I would release you to exile if I had my way. To await another hunt. However I will let the Air Lord decide.’

‘You know me?’

The blackbirder laughed. ‘As I know all human cattle. But you attacked the flightworks.’ He turned his flat aura on Tamm. ‘And you, an Imperial officer, aided him then. And you aid him still. Why is that I wonder?’

The blackbirder stepped close to Tamm.

‘You are imprinted. And yet you are not. Why is that Imperial Officer? Tell me. How did you break your naraqha?’

Tamm ignored the looming blackbirder captain, and instead turned to study the sky to the north.

The blackbirder laughed. ‘The Air Lord will be most intrigued to meet you. Question you…’

A long low horn blew out across the vanukam. Jupiter at first thought a gharumal had lowed it’s rumbling call. But the horn repeated at regular intervals, then broke into a complicated stutter.

‘What’s this? Skyship? Enemy?’ The blackbirder rounded on his crew. ‘Where away? Blast your eyes. Where is it?’

Jupiter saw Tamm lower his head, but his eyes pointed north.

A string of lights hung in the sky straight into the wind. They grew visibly bigger as they closed.

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Tamm stepped close to Jupiter. ’Trust me?’

‘As always, Tamm.’

The strange guttural tongue broke out amongst the crew.

‘Is it an attack?’

‘Who would come south on the north wind?’

‘The Air Lord returns to his fleet. Look.’

The blackbirder leader roared for silence. And then in the regular manisaur language he called them to order. ‘Mind your words. Call for the crew to return.’

In the sudden bustle Tamm shoved Jupiter towards the railing, grabbed a rope.

A blade appeared aimed at Jupiter’s throat.

‘Hold.’

Tamm stepped back as if to give room to fight, but he froze and did nothing. Jupiter looked along the blade to the manisaur holding it.

‘Dhakara!’ Zaj shouted. ‘They flee.’

‘Zaj? What are you doing?’ Jupiter said.

The blackbirder captain laughed and took his weapon from the manisaur Jupiter had risked his life for.

‘Zaj? So that’s their name is it?’ The blackbirder flicked the knife’s edge under Jupiter’s chin. ‘She is imprinted — now naraqhan. You feel the edge of my sejrat’sha — my turned-blade. That you humans cannot be imprinted will be your downfall. But submit now and I will spare you a while. Until we and the Air Lord’s fleet have dealt with this…’

He removed the tarusha — long blade from Jupiter’s neck and pointed it at the line of lights.

‘Rebel… fleet.’ The blackbirder captain laughed, but not the warm bubbling of a manisaur. Instead the strange chilling gurgle of these foreign manisaurs.

Jupiter looked at Zaj and saw his friend had gone, replaced with an obedient automaton.

I’ve failed again.

Even as the blackbirder captain aimed his blade at the arriving skyships, the north wind bore them onto the fortress.

A bang from the hatch door and the pack of four legged creatures leapt out, then jumped around the surprised crew and tripped them up.

‘Confound these…’ the blackbirder captain shouted, Then a dark shadow bounded onto his shoulders, knocked the blade from his hand, then jumped away once more.

‘Now,’ Tamm shouted.

Jupiter leapt to Tamm. The manisaur wrapped one arm about him, the other hand strong on a boarding rope. Then he jumped over the side of the skyship, Jupiter held close to his side.

For a heart pounding moment they fell. The rope twanged tight. Jupiter’s cheek, hit by the suddenly taut rope, slammed his head back into Tamm’s shoulder. Together they rushed forward in a rapid swing.

The ground shot towards them at speed and from a frightening height.

Jupiter yelled, his voice joining that of Tamm’s. They swooped just metres above the ground, then up, up, high, slowed, then rushed back at the ground.

The rope gave way then. Cut from above. From that fearful height they plummeted at the dirt and gravel of the courtyard.

Jupiter and Tamm hit a glancing blow and rolled like tumbled dice across the ground. Jupiter, bound up in Tamm’s arms, flew free only at the last moment. Tamm had taken the hit upon the ground, and shed most of the rush of sideways speed.

The wind gusted out of him, and Jupiter lay on the ground and struggled to draw breath. With no air in his lungs panic set in.

I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe.

And then he could. He raised his head and drew in great lungfuls of air. Above him the grappling hooks and anchor ropes of the attacking skyships snagged upon the black vessel. Grinding sounds, and snapping rigging rang all around.

Did we fall so far?

‘Tamm? Are you alright?’ Jupiter rushed to his friend. The manisaur lay on the ground, moving their legs a little. Jupiter rolled him over. Blood spilled from a graze on Tamm’s dark leathery face. Jupiter touched him then. The skin did feel like velvet, soft, and hot, and smooth. But the blood stuck to his fingers. Under the blue-purple of the sky the blood looked black, evil, and deadly.

‘Tamm.’ Jupiter bent low. ‘Can you hear me?’

The manisaurs aura flickered and he opened his eyes.

‘I think I broke something,’ said Tamm.

‘If it is more than your pride my heart will break too.’

‘How bad is it?’

Tamm raised his left hand. His outer thumb hung at an unnatural angle. Unnatural for a two thumbed quevantaq.

‘But you’ll live?’ Jupiter said.

‘I think so. We quevantaqi are built for falling. We fly so very badly you see.’

‘I noticed.’

Tamm’s aura flickered with amusement, but Jupiter had only a sigh of relief.

‘That’s one more time you saved my life,’ said Jupiter.

‘Always, Jupiter. Always.’

A spar and rigging fell next to them.

‘Move it Tamm. Before…’

Another spar fell, ropes whipped out and snared up Jupiter and Tamm. They struggled free and limped away.

Under the screaming mayhem of the battle Jupiter could feel the agony from the mantas still trapped within the black skyship.

‘Tamm. I hate to say this. But somehow we’ve still got to take that skyship.’

Tamm shook his head. ‘Always Jupiter. Always. You’re crazy.’

‘My mum would be proud.’

A crash roared from above. The attacking skyships had grappled their enemy and now dragged at the main rigging. The black skyship leaned over as if about to topple.

It dropped, then recovered. The crew had used the zharaqsa flight engine to break free. But they did not have enough height for more of that. The north wind pushed and pulled at the entwined ships and they dragged closer to the sides of the courtyard and the wooden upper floors of the fortress buildings.

Then Jupiter saw her. The Jupiter. Tied to the side of the attacking skyship.

‘Tamm. The Jupiter. And that’s Gan’s ship. Maggie and Pari-pari must be onboard.’ Jupiter took a step forward but Tamm held him back. ‘They’re both going to crash.’

Flaming arrows rose from the blackbirders now and stuck in the side of the Kitaraham.

The rebel skyship began to burn.