Somewhere far far away ... Part 6

Somewhere far far away ... Part 6 (a collaborative story) by CaylaCatz https://budgetpixel.com/u/CaylaCatz and @panos https://budgetpixel.com/u/panos Table of Contents (so far!) # Index to all chapters: https://budgetpixel.com/blog/somewhere-far-far-away-all-chapter-links here: Chapter 12 (by panos) : Snarls and Little Green Men (images coming soon) Comments for Part 6 Chapter 13: Chief, are we still going to blow up and die? Chapter 12 (by panos) : Snarls and Little Green Men Chapter 12 images and text by panos The Wizard's chapter: My teeth clenched even further, the engine-room begun to be lighted by flickers of lightning from my staff. I saw Chief Musten gaze steadily in my eyes, forming words, slowly, so that they would be clearly understood: "No, lad." Beside him the young sailor looked at the scene with goggling eyes. Xenya too, her jaw hanging open so much, that it was proverbially touching the deck. I returned my gaze on the Captain. "Call. Off. Your. Dog. Captain." I said very, VERY coldly. "Back down and obey your Captain. Wizard," was her answer in the exact same tone. So called ‘Magic & Mayem’ were seconds away. And then, two things happened. First, surprisingly, Breggi took a hesitant step forward. He glanced quickly at me, then at his Captain. "Listen, Cap’n…" he said reluctantly. Then the second thing happened: Melnya came flying forward and perched on Nemanya’s shoulder. "O, Captain Nemanya!" she begun singsongingly. "Great Captain Nemanya, Brave Captain Nemanya! Queen of the Skies! Terror of the Airways! Nobody dares steal form you! Whoever tries comes to a grim ending! Release this miserable beaten thief, so that it can spread the word far and wide: Captain Nemanya of the ‘Sky Torrent’ is not to be trifled with! Thieves came and fell to her sword! Their bodies lie charred by her pistol! Let it go, merciful in your Victory, terrible in your Warning: ‘Nobody steals from Captain Nemanya, she of the Beautiful and Terrible Dragon Eyes!!" As the bird’s song went on and on, a change came over Nemanya’s features: Her wrath subsided, the redness left her cheeks. She began to smile wider and wider. A self-complacent look came over her face. She even giggled like a little girl, there at the end. Finally, she took a deep breath and said: "Well, I like this idea! You three!" She pointed to a trio of armed sailors. "Take this scum to the deck and let it fly away with its tailfeathers between its legs!" Instantly the over tense atmosphere in the engine-room disappeared. With a brief "aye-aye," the three sailors escorted the harpy from the room. Melnya went flying over their heads, singing: "Brave sailors! Obedient sailors! Doing their Captain’s bidding, garnering her approval!" I smiled as they disappeared out the door. Everybody looked VERY relieved – but for the First. "Cap’n…" he told Nemanya, dissatisfaction clear in his face. "What, First? I showed them, didn’t I?” said the Captain, still glowing. "I showed them all!" "But…" "Come on, First! Bring my ship to order!" Nemanya told him . "On your way, now!" "…. Aye-aye, Cap’n." said he, not so willingly. "Take that away and throw it overboard!" he shouted at two sailors, pointing to the charred body of the other harpy. He turned to exit the engine room. At the door, First stopped briefly and stared at me. He pointed to his eyes with two fingers, then pointed them at me. I resisted successfully to respond to his 'I‘ve got my eye on you’ with that famous in my home country gesture where I bring my palm sideways to my… uhm… genitalia, to show him where I recorded such threats. Nemanya turned to follow him. "Chief, bring your engine-room to order," she ordered Musten. "Aye-aye, Cap’n!" Then, she looked at me. "You did excellent work today, wizard," she told me, still smiling. "So, I’ll let this slide. For once" Her smile disappeared. "But don’t gainsay me again. Especially, in front of my crew. Ever." Her yellow eyes skewered me. I nodded once. "Duly noted, Captain." I told her. She turned and left the engine room, followed by her posse of sailors. I turned to the people still in the room. Cat looked at me with wide eyes. She was shaking now. "I… I’m sorry… I..," she stuttered. "It’s all right, Catherine. It’s over now." She took a deep breath, bringing herself under control admirably fast. 'Good woman’ I thought. I heard a clang. The young sailor had let the cannon fall from his hands, as if, now that the action had ended, they could not support its weight anymore. "Careful with that, Tobby!" told him Chief Musten. Then he came up to me, his one hand on his injury. He put his other on my shoulder. "Good job, Wizard," he told me solemnly. "Thank you, Chief," I acknowledged. I noticed Xenya standing by his side. "You all right… brat?" I asked her. Her face reddened and she clenched her fists. "You called ma a ‘lady’, stupid wizard! AGAIN!" she said. I visibly cringed, expecting another kick. But… "Xenya!" scolded her Chief Musten. "What’s this?! Calling our wizard stupid, after doing so much for the ship? And our engine room?! Shame on you, lassie! Apologize to him, at once!" "But, Chief…" she started to protest. "Now Xenya!" insisted the Vuldren. "And thank him for saving you from that bloody ‘arpy!" Crestfallen, barely looking at me, the kid mumbled: "I’m sorry stu… wizard. And thanx for saving me…" She looked like she was swallowing cod liver oil, all the way. I admit I rather enjoyed that. Deciding to be gracious, I said, "You’re welcome! Although," turning to Musten, ‘I have to share the credit for that save with your other engine-crewman, Chief." "Oy?" he asked "What crewman be that, wizard?" "You know, the little green guy who struck the harpy’s big head with its wrench." "Huh?" was the Chief’s response to that. "You know," I insisted, "green critter, yea high, big eyes, even bigger ears." I looked around," 'Twas right there," I pointed, "but I don’t see him now." The Chief lifted his big shoulders. "I don’t know who in blazes you talking about, wizard. There’s none like that in me crew." Perplexed, I looked around again, hoping to catch sight of said critter. Instead, I caught sight of Xenya, staring at me, her eyes huge, her mouth open wide, looking as if… well, looking as if in me there was confirmation she was not crazy. As soon as she caught me looking at her, she closed her mouth sharply and quickly looked elsewhere. A sudden loud buzz and bright flicker of purple light from the device on the pedestal brought everyone’s attention to it. "The Regulator!" said Chief Musten. "Time to fix that! Toby! Open its service panel! Catherine! The sub-etheric formulator. ‘urry now, lass!" "Here, Cat, I’ll show you!" said Xenya. She hurried past me. She glanced briefly sideways at me, but when she saw me looking at her questioningly, she snapped her eyes forward. As the engine crew catered to the damaged equipment, with more mechanics were arriving by now, I pondered at the mystery of the unknown engine-room denizen. "I will sort this out," I thought. And I would! Trust me. I’m a wizard To be continued ... Chapter 13: Chief, are we still going to blow up and die? Comments