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Splintered Light Chapter 7.2: It's All In The Cards

Chaos was a universal constant, that much Somus knew, but that didn't mean he had to like it. The Dragon's entire education was spent learning how to bring order from chaos and how to minimize the effects of entropy. When the crewmen watching Mr. Fritz's dive (and subsequent animal attack) broke ranks and began running around the deck toward god-only-knew what ends he realized that cooler heads would have to prevail, and he turned to provide direction to the men on the pump. Unfortunately chaos had one up on the Dragon and Mr. Vopello abandoned his post before Somus could say a single word.

Quickly revising his plan, the Chief Engineer spoke to the Wolf, who was still in position. "Collect whatever portion of the line and hose we have remaining, Mr. Brown."

The Wolf responded immediately without compliant "Yes, Sir."

Spreading his wings to help bulk up his size (no crewmember came within wing beat of the Chief Engineer), Somus used them to clear a little extra room around himself on deck. Within that area of influence was the pump, and he began giving orders to Mr. Rusk. "Get everything packed up. We don't need someone kicking it, tripping, or knocking it over."

The Dog nodded, moving to fold the levers back into place and locking them in position. The air pump was built in such a way that unpacking it was far easier than preparing it for stowage, but that was the nature of things and Somus planned to make due regardless. He gazed around the deck, pleased that the sailors were finally starting to calm down as the rest of the officers worked to instill a sense of order in things. People were given tasks and that, in turn, meant that they were not left unattended to give into their own aimless meanderings.

That sense of order took another hit when one of the seamen up in the rigging shouted "Man overboard!"

Everyone turned toward the open rail but the sound of a hearty splash followed the announcement so quickly that nobody had a chance to see who it was. Ash-Moon, however, was able to provide some clarity. "Mr. Vopello just dove in... I think he had a bottle in one paw."

Captain Jacksoni pushed his way through the crewmen, shouting out orders as he did. "Harpoons. Pistols. Crossbows. If you have one you're at the railing! Viktor!"

The Hare's reply came shouted down from the rigging. "Sir!"

The Tiger shouted back up. "I want eyes on anything and everything. Fitz... Vopello... anything you see I want called out!"

"Aye, Sir!"

Somus shook his head, sighing at events taking place; the Dragon, despite enjoying his time at sea did not have any particular love for deep ocean and the thought that not only one crewman was overboard, but two? ...pure insanity. He moved back to Mr. Rusck, who was just finishing with breaking down the machine for storage. Before the Dog could pick it up to bring it back down into the hold the Dragon reached out and placed a talon on it. "We still have two crewmen overboard. Keep it out of the way but I want it to stay up on deck."

The junior Engineer nodded and, with Mr. Brown's help, moved it to rest out of the way against one of the masts. Once the item was effectively seen to the Dragon dismissed both men and made his way to the Captain, folding his wings to make it easier to pass through the constantly shifting crowd. There was a certain pattern to most things and the movement of sailors across the deck wasn't the kind of chaos he minded; carefully monitoring everyone's lines of movement Somus slid through the foot traffic and approached the Captain. "Sir?"

Captain Jacksoni turned to the Dragon. "What happened to the safety line?"

The Engineer shook his head. "Shorn clean through, sir. That cable is made with a shear resistance of almost 4000 PSI... whatever broke it--"

The Tiger didn't wait for any further explanation. "What can we do at this point, Chief?"

It was a very straight forward question but there were far too many ways it could be answered. In the end, the Dragon spread his wings and looked to the Captain. "Let me get a better view, Sir."

Rarely if ever did Captain Jacksoni permit Somus to fly during daylight hours but the Tiger wasn't stupid; a top-down view onto the ocean would give them the best chance of locating their missing crewmen and whatever it was that had, for lack of better word 'attacked' the cable... and likely Mr. Fritz. The Captain was insightful and the approval came almost immediately. "Do it. Circle once to see what you can; if you find something drop a flare onto the location-- green if it's a crewman... red if it's... something else."

Somus nodded, giving his belt a smack with a talon; he always had at least six flares with him and both colors were common enough. "Aye, Sir."

The Dragon wasted no more time, doffing his overcoat; it weighed nearly ten pounds and flying was easier with less weight. Despite having accommodations for his wings, Somus preferred to leave it for protecting him from oil and steam in the engine room. Kneeling down, the engineer gave a shout "Clear the way!"

The men around him knew the Dragon well enough that 'the way' was straight up, and they backed away from him as he unfurled his wings. Since the Wave Rider was stationary he realized that he wouldn't have the easiest time taking off, but that changed when he saw Rigger Viktor leap from the mizzenmast and onto a clew line. The Hare's light weight allowed him to slide down it. He gave a kick, and let go, letting the momentum carry him over onto a boom just over the dragon's head. Viktor braced his legs against the timbers and shouted "Go!"

Somus needed no other indication of what the Hare had planned; using his wings to provide some upward thrust, the Dragon launched himself into the air, the top of his jump taking him just within reach of the rigger. Reaching out, the two locked arms, and Viktor shouted to Nikolay, who was directing another two crewmen up by the ropes. "NOW!"

As one, the three crewmen heaved, sending the boom in a quick, rotating arc. Somus waited until the last moment and, as Viktor swung him out wide, Somus let go. The Dragon let the momentum of is movement give him the additional thrust he needed and, as he fell toward the water the engineer threw his wings to either side and let lift carry him into the air. Somus never much cared for taking flight from a low altitude but in that particular occasion he found the catapulted take-off assist exhilarating.

It took some doing, but the Dragon managed to gain more height as me made a quick circle around the ship. When he finally got into position he glanced back to the Wave Rider; the riggers were once again in position and, with the assistance of the look outs, provided Somus with a search-area. The Dragon changed his angle of flight and planned a fly-over of the site they indicated. It didn't take long to catch a glimpse of what was happening underwater.

There was definitely a shallow spot in the sea. Somus clearly caught sight of a sand bar but, from his improved altitude he saw that it was but one of many, creating a continuing and ever-widening progressions of lines heading off to the south east. Although they appeared to be almost evenly spaced, they were of decidedly different heights. The Dragon didn't know a lot about oceanography but he'd been aboard a ship long enough to know that it was an indication of tidal currents being disrupted by what was likely either an atoll or an island.

Drawing closer to the sandbar in front of the Wave Rider, Somus could clearly make out what appeared to be a sunken vessel. The water around the sand bar wasn't as clear as elsewhere and it was hard for the Dragon to make out all of the details but he knew enough about modern ships to realize that it had no steam room; how long had it been down there? His attention was forced elsewhere when he saw a vulpine shape flitter between sections of darkness and, a moment later an enormous, lamnine form cleave through the water dangerously close to it. The Dragon immediately popped two flares: one red, and one green. He did a quick wing-over, opening both talons and letting the flares fall toward the ocean.

Although each was released over the sea with about ten seconds of fall distance it was more than enough to get the attention of those on the deck of the Wave Rider and the Dragon quickly swooped away. The sailors with weapons took aim in that direction; the engineer saw men with spy glasses peering toward the waves; the sailors in the rigging gazed out toward the marked location and the Captain adjusted his magnification monocle. Somus circled once, staying in place over the spot even after the flares touched down, making a hissing sputter as they sank into the water.

The descending flares continued to provide light, burning brightly as they passed the circling form of a gigantic shark. It recoiled from the light and that was when one of the flares began to move off course; Mr. Vopello was heading rapidly toward the surface, having grabbed the light in his jaws. Somus wondered for a split second why the Fox hadn't bothered holding it with a paw until the Dragon realized that both were full. With what, Somus didn't know, and he really didn't have the time to care.

Salvatore broke the surface some fifty yards from the ship, gasping for breath. The Dragon changed trajectory of flight, circling back overhead; from his vantage he could see that the shark had turned around and was lined up with the Fox. Somus pulled two pistols from his bandoleer and swung down close to the surface, shouting out to Mr. Vopello "It's right behind you!"

The Fox continued swimming toward the Wave Rider but his forward motion was hampered by the items he held in his paws. The Dragon kept his arms in close to his body as he banked tightly on one wing, and angled back to make another fly-over of the Fox. The dark shape in the water drew closer still to the paddling crewman and Somus leveled his weapons, firing both into the sea. The bullets created a splash in the water but the shark silhouette continued tracking Mr. Vopello, undeterred. Somus banked again, dropping his pistols as he reached for another pair.

The Dragon banked hard, going so far as to roll over onto his back as he took aim with his weapons and discharged another two shots before he finished the maneuver and righted himself; discarding the empty weapons as he banked once again. Somus took stock of the situation when he saw a line of red in the water but it appeared pitifully inadequate. The Engineer pulled the last two guns from his bandoleer then aligned himself and was so surprised he almost missed a wing beat: Mr Vopello had stopped swimming toward the Wave Rider, and was treading water, facing the incoming sea beast!

The tell-tale fin of a shark finally broke the surface... and it was a VERY large fin. Somus saw that Salvatore continued eyeing it, remaining where he was even as musket balls and crossbow quarrels flew over him at the enormous beast. With the kind of calm Somus had only ever seen in men standing before a firing squad, the Fox pulled one paw back, and then threw what appeared to be a jug almost a dozen yards in front of his floating position between the approaching shark and himself. Despite the jug being ceramic, it floated. Only once his paw was free did the Fox take the flare from his muzzle, and then shouted up a single word at the dragon as Somus flew overhead. "BREATHE!"

The Dragon was so caught up by the shout that he missed his opportunity to bank around at a good angle and so that left only one option: Somus headed straight for the netting that led from the deck to the sails. Whipping the rest of his body around with the aid of a crack of his tail, the Engineer pulled his wings in tight and pushed his legs out in front of him as he 'fell' through the air backwards. The moment his feet touched the netting he bent his legs, letting his momentum tipped the Wave Rider due to his impact.

The Dragon's speed slowed dramatically and the rope netting creaked dangerously from the collision, but it held. A full two seconds later, the force of the collision pushed back when the Wave Rider righted itself, and sent Somus rocketing back toward the Fox. Quickly taking stock of the situation, Somus saw that the shark had all but surfaced, gigantic maw open wide, ready to take in the entirety of Mr. Vopello with one go... but it swam into the jar first, and only then did the engineer recognize it as one of the deck's pitch pots. Winging down close to the water, Somus finally realized what the Fox meant by his shout... and the Dragon opened his maw, acrid sting coming from the back of his throat, and he did just as was requested: he breathed.

A wave of flame washed out across the water sending up an enormous cloud of steam. The shark barreled straight through it, skin blistering and fuming, but its momentum carried it forward. Somus shot on past, surprised and aghast that his breath hadn't been enough to set the pitch aflame, but after a moment he realized his miscalculation: the water around the jug must have been enough to insulate it. He banked quickly, bringing his last two pistols to bear, but he didn't shoot; staring at the shark, he could have sworn he saw that half of its head was covered in a metal plate!

Even though physics was not on his side when it came to setting the pitch aflame it supported him in another way: the rapid heating of the cold jug caused it to shatter in the water just as the shark swam through... and Salvatore still had a flare. The Fox released the fuming stick and his aim was true; the pitch burst into flame just as the shark reached it. A massive slick of burning tar sprayed across the water, completely engulfing the front of the monstrous creature. It disappeared beneath the waves.

Somus remained in the air during Salvatore's return to the Wave Rider and touched down only once the crew got the waterlogged Fox aboard. While several of the ship's workers came over to speak with the engineer and congratulate him on his fancy flying and his aid of Mr. Vopello most were directly at the Fox's side, asking questions, demanding answers, or generally providing congratulations at surviving such an ordeal; many called it luck, but others stood to the side looking at Salvatore as if he were a witch.

All of the talk and milling about came to an end as Captain Jacksoni cleared out the crowd. The Tiger approached the Fox, holding out a paw. "What've you got there, Mr. Vopello?"

The crewmen around the dripping sailor finally took note of the item as Salvatore handed it to the Captain. "I figured we'd need this again, Sir."

Everyone near the Fox recoiled in surprise and disgust as Mr. Vopello presented the helmet Mr. Ftiz had worn... with the Marmot's head still inside. Rather than accepting it, Alistair simply held a paw out, palm toward the Fox. "See to it that the Reverend gets the-- ah... remains, thank you."

The Fox nodded. "Aye, Sir."

Captain Jacksoni paused as the Salvatore turned to go, then reached out and grabbed the man by the arm. "I appreciate your initiative, Mr. Vopello... but in the future I would prefer that you await orders. This kind of behavior is not only reckless, but it sets a very dangerous precedent when it comes to needless aspirations of heroism."

The Fox nodded. "Of course, Captain. I apologize."

Rather than spend any great more amount of time with Mr. Vopello, the Tiger turned to face Somus, who had slowly approached. "Speaking of aspirations of heroism..."

The Dragon stopped in place; that last statement had been directed at him. "Sir?"

The dressing-down appeared to be something of a formality; Captain Jacksoni was smirking as he told Somus off. "Whatever happened to one quick circle and then a return to the ship?"

Somus nodded. "It was a judgment call, Captain."

The Tiger cracked a wry grin. "Well... I suppose I can forgive one of my officers for taking initiative... just so long as it was for the benefit of one of my crewmen and not just to get a few extra minutes of flight time."

The Dragon offered a smile in return, clasping wrists with the Captain. His smile slowly disappeared as he thought back to the sea beast. "Captain... there was something strange about that shark..."

Ash-Moon, who had never left his place by the side of the railing spoke up. "It has settled on the bottom, Rohn... it would not be a difficult prospect to--"

The Tiger interrupted him immediately. "You haven't had enough excitement for the day, Ash-Moon? Besides, we cannot send someone down without--"

Reverend Fischer made his way past the officers holding a cloth-wrapped parcel; nobody had to guess as to what the head-sized object was. A moment later Salvatore followed suit, stopping only long enough to hand the helmet for the breathing tube to Somus. The Captain didn't finish his objection.

Bosun Severna joined the gathering as Somus inspected the helmet for damage; other than the broken air hose and a nasty dent on the left side it was in good condition. The Prong Horn looked around at everyone. "Salvatore got down to the ship... he told Gustave that he saw something down there."

The Chief Engineer glanced to Captain Jacksoni; the Tiger's whiskers were vibrating, and that usually meant that he was formulating the kind of idea that would make things interesting. Eventually Alistair did speak up, his voice carrying a thoughtful tone. "I can argue for rationing the time for a single dive. Mr. Veridius, what was so strange about the shark?"

The Dragon shook his head. "I couldn't say for sure, Sir... but in the heat of the moment it looked like it was wearing armor..."

The Captain's ears rose in curiosity. "Hmm... then perhaps that DOES present quite a quandary, doesn't it?"

Willem, having got the majority of sailors back to work approached the rest of the officers. "Hopefully we can be underway, sir? This place doesn't bode well."

Ash-Moon snorted. "The wreck still sits unexplored. Whatever has called to us goes unanswered."

Somus knew of the tribesman's belief in animism but considering the strange events of the day, the comment made the Dragon shiver just a little. As if sensing his engineer's hesitance, Captain Jacksoni merely nodded. "I see."

Alistair had quite the decision in front of him and Somus didn't envy the Tiger one bit.