"Oh, surely, new stars shall claim watch of StarSea, but with a new eye comes new light and a new age. The Age of Mortals comes to a close, the Age of Monsters arrives."
Yulduz Sesi, Mystic and Voice of the Stars
Tunis shone bright, his black moonlight streaming down upon
the Azure Sea, granting a flourescence to the vivid
aether currents beneath the
Starship Dobaara and a heavier blackness to the
void. Sakshi gripped the tip of the bow, heart pounding as she scanned the aether for ripples warning of
Monsters surfacing from
the Deep Sea. Something about Tunis's fully-waxed midnight light obscured signs of attack, so all hands - or eyes - were on deck every midnight. At least, every midnight for the past three months.
Three months of white-knuckled, gritted-teeth, watching as Monster attacks increased, first, every week, then, every day. A person didn't realize how nice it was to swab a deck until simply sailing the aether became dangerous enough for cleanliness not to matter.
"Tunis is waning," Keol called. From the corner of her eye, Sakshi saw a handful of swain withdraw from their scanning posts and remove the life lines securing them to the starship. She did not. Keol was a reliable
startographer, but it wasn't smart to underestimate Monsters' intelligence. The clever species attacked near midnight. The perceptive ones attacked once a crew let down their guard.
"Back to work!" This command came from Kuldeep, Head
StarHunter, Commander of Starship Dobaara, and Sakshi's cousin.
With reflexive speed, Sakshi skittered back from the bow of the ship, snatched the rag from the deck and resumed swabbing. As hefty, steel-leather shoed footsteps splashed Sakshi's arms with the remnants of her cleaning attempts, she glanced up, caught Kuldeep's eye, and looked away quickly, but not before she saw his critical frown.
As the newest swain on Dobaara, Sakshi was assigned to the night crew for a month every other month, while others only worked nights one of every three months. Being the Commander's cousin only guaranteed the miserable schedule. Kuldeep refused to show preference for family, instead demanding more. Sakshi had expected this. Her brother had spent two years hunting
starhearts,
starshards, and
stardust on the Dobaara, and Sakshi had heard stories. But Sakshi wanted to be the best, and Kuldeep was good, his crew was good, and the harder she worked now, the better she'd get.
Still, when he'd passed her, Sakshi sat back on her heels and stared up at the
heavens in the farthest reaches of
the High Sea, letting out the air from her lungs in a condensed, slow stream. She imagined her tension and fear entwined with her breath, catching and riding a tendril of
solar wind higher and higher until, at the edge of the thin High Sea aether, her anxiety was flung up to the
stars.
Which star, she wondered, would take her fear for her. Glistening celestial beings of every imaginable hue blinked at her from the heavens, but Sakshi found she preferred the black glow of Tunis, a star far larger than any other in the heavens, save
Celesta. But the sun wasn't visible quite yet. She was only just waxing.
To think, soon, Sakshi might hold Tunis's starheart in her hands, assuming the whispers of an impending moonfall and sunfall were correct, and Keol had successfully charted the expected starfield for Tunis's remains. Sakshi smiled at the moon, and dunked her rag in a bucket of water.
"Brine Beast!"
Sakshi only registered the shout half a second before something rammed the port side of the starship. The ship rocked, dirty water sloshing from the bucket. Sakshi stumbled to her feet, her insides sloshing like the water. A Brine Beast. Dobaara hadn't faced such a vicious Monster in Sakshi's time on the starship. Another impact shook the ship.
Kuldeep's baritone rang through the night. "Dust the
wake drive and retract the
solar sails! Haul out the harpoons." His words spurred a flurry of activity, purposeful even in its chaos. Sakshi darted to the iron-wood post to which the line for the fore solar sail was secured. One of the crew joined her, shouting something she never got the chance to hear.
The Brine Beast let out a piercing screech, drowning out all other sound. Sakshi jerked her focus toward the cry. Looming above her were two fluorescing yellow eyes, and dozens of needle sharp teeth. What must have been its narrow, lizard-like head and long neck only seemed an emptyness inkier than the pocket of void behind it. As she stared, mesmerized by fear of and fascination with the Monster, a gust of misty wind washed over her, and a thunderous crack rang out.
"Release the sail!" The man beside her finally penetrated her trance. Another gust of wind splattered them, and Sakshi recoiled as the beasts black, ridged, tail pummeled the central mast, splintering the iron-wood. The post, the main solar sails, and the attached lines collapsed. Sharp edges punctured more sails as they descended. The mass of metal-wood, rope, and silicon-cloth knocked into a few of the crew and yanked those whose life lines were attached to the fallen posts. Cries of pain were joined by another piercing screech.
Only the fore solar sail still splayed in the solar wind. Sakshi pulled on the line, trying to release the tension so the silicon-cloth sail could retract into an opening in the foremast, but her hands shook too much. It didn't matter, for in the next second, the monster's tail slammed the starboard gunwale, and the ship rolled. Between the salty mucous whipping off the creature with every movement, the boistrous waves gushing over the side of the ship, and the wet rag now unfortunately under Sakshi's foot, her shoes found no friction. So, as the ship listed, Sakshi began to slide.
The hand gripping the foresail rope tightened even as the force of Sakshi's weight pulled her downward. The rope burned her sliding hand, but still she clung. With a sharp impact to her abdomen that robbed her of air and left her groaning in pain, Sakshi's progression halted. She'd never removed her life line, and it might have saved her.
The man beside her was not attached to the ship, and, though Sakshi reached out for him, their hands didn't meet, and he slid toward the ships edge and the aether rushing below it. Before he reached the gunwale, however, the Brine Beast struck. Sharp teeth closed around the man, and he was lifted into the air and swallowed.
Bile rose in Sakshi's throat. She could have saved him. Something must have been possible to save him.
The starship leveled out and Sakshi swung. Quivering with adrenaline, her left hand desperately holding her life line to keep herself rightway up, it took her a few passes around the foremast to find purchase, and slow her movement.
War cries and sleek projectiles flew at the Monster. Finally, the crew was fighting back. The Brine Beast was quick. Most of the harpoons missed or glanced off the neck. One flew close enough to slice the Monster. Vibrant purple oozed from its neck. With a shriek the beast dove.
An eerie silence settled over the crew. Had they won? Had they chased the beast away?
"Engage the drive." The starship jolted forward at Kuldeep's command.
A massive thud reverberated through the ship, answering the unspoken questions. The creatures head shot up from the aether. Propelling itself with its massive fins, the monster kept pace as the starship accelerated to nearly 30 knots. With a cry, the creature launched itself onto the boat. Sakshi held tight as the ship careened left.
With a smooth motion, the Brine Beast snatched a woman wielding a loaded harpoon gun. Her screams echoed in the creatures throat, the weapon clattering to the iron-wood deck a few feet from Sakshi. The Brine Beast shifted, and lunged for a third victim, its weight rolling the ship once more. Sakshi grabbed at the weapon, her hand missing it twice before a final attempt landed the harpoon gun in her grasp. Heart pounding, hands shaking harder than ever, she turned to face the creature. Her left hand was still secured around the life line, so she was forced to aim the gun with her non-dominant hand.
The creature was writhing and striking, a difficult target for a practiced steady shot to hit.
Suddenly, a baritone bugel surged forth from somewhere on the ship, and the Brine Beast stilled, zeroing in on the source of the call. Sakshi watched as her cousin strode forward, confident, steady, determined. Though it lasted for only a moment, the scene pulsed with the essence of legend. Kuldeep in his orange jacket, glowing in the black moonlight, facing the creature with eyes of fluorescent yellow, and violet blood dripping from it's neck, azure aether swirling below.
The stillness was short, but just long enough for a half dozen harpoon guns to aim at the Brine Beast. The creature shrieked and harpoons flew, Sakshi's along with the others. Her projectile hit the creature's throat, choking off the shriek. Others struck the head and neck. The creature swayed and collapsed, catching on the front of the stardust propelled starship. It was pushed through the aether for a moment before it slid beneath the currents, sinking into the Deep Sea.
The crew stood motionless and vigilant for minutes before they accepted the creature was vanquished.
Sakshi collapsed to her knees, quivering and gasping for breath. Nearly every muscle in her body was limp, too tired to move, but the hand wrapped around the line remained locked in its tense grip.
Kuldeep called for a head count. Those who could stumbled around the ship, noting friends and coworkers - those alive, those dead, and those never to be found. Sakshi couldn't bring herself to move. When the count ended, Kuldeep directed all uninjured, non-medical personnel to man scanning posts for the remainder of the night. A moment of silence for the lost would have to wait until the Dobaara was no longer at risk of Monster attacks. Still Sakshi didn't move.
Sakshi didn't know how long she knelt there, but eventually, a fluorescent orange entered her line of sight. Kuldeep, standing beside her. He held out his hand.
Sakshi took his hand, and he lifted her to her feet.
"You did well."
Sakshi felt surprise, but didn't think it showed. The tremor was consuming her.
"Return to your post." Kuldeep's words were more of an encouragement than Sakshi had ever heard from him.
She managed a nod.
After she managed to loosen her grip on the life line and make her way to the bow of the ship, Sakshi hunkered down to watch the aether for ripples until the currents led Starship Dobaara to an
island, and the anchor was thrown and secured to a tigran loop on the island's dock. Then, Sakshi stumbled to her cot and collapsed for a few hours of restless sleep haunted by glowing purple and yellow Monsters, and accusatory souls of the lost swain.
***
Sakshi woke with a start. Above her, she heard clangs, thuds, and shouts. Most of the cots were empty, even those belonging to the night crew. Sakshi's first thought was that they'd simply disembarked, but with a pang, she realized she couldn't be sure. It hadn't been clear to her who had been lost in the battle. She pushed away thoughts of the man she'd failed to save. Rolling from her cot, groaning at the ache in her muscles, Sakshi plodded up to the deck. She found herself greeted by a frenzy of construction and the creamy light of Celesta. Tunis could not be seen, his light fully waned.
Exhaustion settled on Sakshi. It was Midday. Being on the night shift, she shouldn't be up yet. But, between the pounding of the repairs to the starship and the memories that had plagued her dreams, it would be some time before she fell back to sleep. Besides, islandfall interupted normal assignments. One daytime excursion would be acceptable.
This was an island Sakshi had never been to, nor, as far as she could tell, one she'd heard of. The dock consisted of a series of tigran loops, a sturdy anchoring feature made of a titanium-granite
meld common to high traffic islands, fastened to the face of several cliffs. In fact, the entire island was rimmed with cliffs, all sloping down to a valley housing a small city, which could be reached via steps carved into lilac-tinted stone.
With a yawn, and another groan, Sakshi crossed the gangplank, a four foot wide iron-wood board lowered from the side of Starship Dobaara onto the edge of the island. As she crossed, an aquamarine aether stream broke free from a pool of aether and drifted through the dark void beneath the gangplank. It whipped drops onto her arm before weaving back into the larger azure eddy upon which the Dobaara floated. Though the small stream was boistrous, most of the aether was slow and steady. It was rare to find aether as ideal for anchoring close enough to an island to support docked ships.
It was a boon, after a night of madness. Even before she saw the state of the Dobaara, Sakshi had known some of the anchors had been lost or detatched in the battle. This would usually make an already obscenely expensive repair worse. Few anchors meant the weight of the starship would put increased and uneven strain on the remaining docking mechanisms. But, with this eddy buoying the vessel, they'd only need one or two anchors to keep the ship from drifting.
Reaching the cliff, Sakshi took time to evaluate what she saw. Minimal vegetation grew on the rocky cliffs, though the residents seemed to have cultivated some flora in the valley. Still, Sakshi didn't think their native food supply would be sufficient to feed the population, which was quite large, if she judged by the size of the city below. This island must participate in trade.
People milled in the city, but many of them must be her fellow shipmates. She wondered how much of the Brine Beast's blood and mucous had been scraped together. After the terror had passed, many of the crew had started complaining that the beast had slipped into the Deep Sea rather than collapsing onboard. Parts from a Brine Beast would bring a high price at markets. It would have offset the cost of the damage nicely. But all they'd found was the violet blood and salty mucous. Usually, Sakshi would have helped them. Bartering wasn't the most exciting way to obtain starshards, but one always needed common specimens to spend. But, exhaustion won out over greed last night.
By now, the locals would have an idea of what the Dobaara's crew wanted to buy and sell and prices would have changed. Sakshi didn't relish the idea of haggling today. Besides, Sakshi was more intrigued by the groups of people gathered on the cliffs.
From her spot on the dock cliffs, she could see several dense collections of people spread along the edge of the island like pips on a clock face. What was it that these people were doing? If Sakshi lived on an island, she'd spend her time watching the aether currents and the starships that sailed upon them. Were these people of a same mind as her?
Was it worth investigating?
But before she could decide, Sakshi noticed Kuldeep ascending the lilac stone stairs toward her, a bag slung over his shoulder and some type of foreign, roughly orb-shaped produce in his hand. Sakshi waited to greet him.
"What do you think of Palíponi?" Kuldeep had casualness in his walk. It was a very different scene to the standoff of the night before. Sakshi shivered.
"Palíponi?"
"The island." Offering a soft smile, Sakshi glanced down at the valley. "It's beautiful."
"But?"
"I prefer
the Open Sea to islands."
Kuldeep raised the produce to his mouth and took a bite. The orb crunched, a sweet fruity aroma permeating the air. As he chewed he considered her answer. After half a minute, he swallowed. "Even after last night?"
Emotions flooded Sakshi. Contentment at the feel of solar wind and aether spray. Fear of the Brine Beast. Wonder at the beauty of the Azure sea. Guilt for the man she'd failed to catch. Defiance against the suggestion that struggle meant surrender.
"I am a starhunter. Monster attacks will happen." Did Kuldeep realize that Sakshi was adopting the posture and demeanor he'd worn as he'd stared down the Brine Beast?
Another bit of sweet fruit and mindful observation later, Kuldeep nodded. In the space of a blink, he shifted into his role as Commander. "Starship Dobaara will be ready in three days time. All members of the crew should be ready for departure the moment she is seaworthy."
Sakshi nodded. Three days. How she hoped Tunis and Celesta held strong until then. She wanted to be there when they fell. A first year starhunter with a moonheart in her collection would be a wonder deserving of what StarSea had to offer.
"You should keep your sleep schedule intact. I need everyone at their best. We are down a few," Kuldeep said. Sadness hid beneath his fortitude. Again, Sakshi thought of the man she'd lost. She gritted her teeth. Next time, it would be different.
"Yes, Commander. If I may, I'd like just a few hours to walk the island in sunlight." And to clear her mind of memories before trying to sleep.
"Granted." Kuldeep looked back at the valley city. "It is worth seeing a place in all lights." He took a final bite of the fruit, tossed it on the ground, and strode to the gangplank, calling to the
tinkerers at work on the mast.
Wasting no more time, Sakshi wandered along the continuous mountain rim towards the closest group of people on the cliffs. As she neared the group, whispered conversations reached her ears, and with them a familiar voice.
"Along the Valmis current, you say. Hmm. I was sure Current Ingatag would bring us closer," Keol said.
Sakshi pushed past a few people to find Dobaara's startographer, a current map in one hand, the other arm bandaged and secured to his torso. "Keol." Relief dosed with shame washed over her. She was happy he was alive, yes, but Sakshi knew her relief was for his ability to lead her to the moonheart rather than his value as a mortal.
Keol looked up at the sound of his name. "Newbie." His eyes flashed with some unspoken sentiment, but Sakshi could not decipher it. She had been treated like an outsider for most of her time on the Dobaara. Even when she'd earned begrudging acceptance, few of her fellow swain had spent enough time with her for an inherent understanding of such communication.
Sakshi chose to listen silently.
Keol returned his attention to the group. "You are sure Current Valmis is the one we should take? It doesn't match my calculations."
"Do not concern yourself with the discrepency. The stars are shifting," an elderly woman said, "They are preparing, should the new age require a great change in them. What once was constant is now fluid. They guide us still, but even they are unsure."
Keol looked up at the day sky. Sakshi's eyes followed his gaze.
The Eye of StarSea watched its domain: Tunis, the pupil of the eye, was now barely visible, Celesta, the white iris, shining strongly at a near full wax. Around them shone pinprick sized day stars. The hues faded with every minute, as Celesta waned brighter.
"No star's fall has rendered the stars unreliable before," Keol said.
"Perhaps not in our time, but StarSea is far older than even I." The elderly woman gestured to her wrinkled face, her humorous smile accenting the lines around her eyes and within her cheeks.
"You speak of the whispers." The words had left Sakshi's mouth before she thought to restrain the thought.
Eyes shifted to her. The old woman's gaze was acute. "Of what whispers do you speak."
Keol's eyes flashed with communication again, but Sakshi still didn't understand.
"On nearly every island we've visited recently, we've heard whispers of a simultaneous Moonfall and Sunfall."
The old woman nodded sagely. "Yes. I speak of the whispers. And much more. The time of
Apocalypse is upon us."
"Apocalypse?" Sakshi felt her blood run cold. "Surely it is not so drastic. Moon and Sunfalls have occured before. There are starhearts, shards, and dust to prove it. New stars shall take Tunis and Celesta's place."
"Regardless...," Keol started, but was interupted.
"Oh, surely, new stars shall claim watch of StarSea, but with a new eye comes new light and a new age.
The Age of Mortals comes to a close,
The Age of Monsters arrives."
"Age of Monsters?" Sakshi muttered the phrase as her mind processed the statement. The Brine Beast, uncommon in the Azure Open Sea. The overall increased attacks. The whispers had referenced such occurances. Yet, the wording this woman used spoke of something deeper. The end and beginning of an Age. But Monsters' dominance was a thing of the past. "Mortals have devised ways of defending and hunting. We wield
Mystica, and apply
Alchemy. We build ships and much more. A falling Moon would not change that."
The woman smiled sadly. "I may possess a Mystic Affinity for the stars, but I do not command them. They choose how to use their power and influence. Celesta and Tunis have aided us. We shall suffer without them."
"I do not intend to be without Tunis." Sakshi found the woman's words fueled her desire to find the moonheart. Hope was quickly changing to need.
"Sakshi," Keol warned.
"Intend or do not, you have no say."
The woman's words burned. No say. Sakshi was not yet worth their respect. But one day, she would be."We will find the starfield and collect the moonheart. Possessing such a rarety gives a person say."
"Possess it." The woman turned to Keol, question in her eyes. He shook his head.
Sakshi barely noticed. "Of course. We are starhunters."
Fire. In every eye which instantly latched onto her. The fire of fury. Keol, the woman, everyone was furious with her.
"Starhunter!" the woman cried, "Liar." This was directed at Keol. "Out of respect? Does
possessing a being of great power show respect? How dare you!"
Sakshi stumbled back. Even for her, an indirect recipient of the scorn, the force of the rage was like a tangible shove. Keol skittered out of the cluster of people closing in on him. He offered no excuse, no retraction.
"Come, child." He growled his words, then dashed toward Starship Dobaara without waiting for Sakshi to follow. But follow she did. There was no welcome for her on that cliff.
***
Sakshi didn't bother visiting the rest of the town. Her yearning for the Azure Sea, and, specifically, the moonheart she'd only find by sailing the aether currents, had waxed full. She committed to her responsibilities with fervor. Daytime she spent in her cot, resting, if she couldn't sleep, replacing memories of the battle with imaginings of the sun and moonfall. At night, she ate in the mess, and cleaned the deck from the day's repairs.
After cornering Sakshi to give her a blazing tirade about how she'd ruined his chance of learning more from the mystics, Keol spent his time researching currents, charting the stars, and ignoring Sakshi. She was too determined to feel guilty for doing something she hadn't realized was problematic.
Tunis waxed on the third night, and Sakshi hummed with excitement. The tinkerers only had to attach one more solar sail, and the Dobaara was ready to leave. Sakshi grabbed her bucket of water and rag, and walked toward the bow, intent on her job.
Standing on the dock cliff, scrutinizing the starship, was the old woman Sakshi had talked to that first day on Palíponi. Sakshi walked to the edge of the ship and stared back at the woman.
"Tonight," the woman called, "Tonight, the moon shall fall, the sun close behind! Apocalypse has arrived!!"
Sakshi smiled. If this woman meant to threaten her, she'd failed.
"Do not sail. StarSea shall quake, pattern shall evaporate. Destruction awaits!"
Sakshi turned her back to the woman and walked to her post.
Starship Dobaara set off three hours later. They sailed Current Valmis. Apparantly, Keol had decided to trust the mystics.
"Unfold the sails." Sakshi moved to the fore solar sail line, timing the tightening with the actions of fellow crew members. As she tied the line to a post, she thought of the night so short ago, and let it fuel her determination to ensure a different future.
It was as she huddled on the bow, watching for ripples, at the end of her shift, when Tunis and Celesta shone with equal brightness that her dream became possible.
Sakshi felt it before she saw it. The warm solar wind which had whipped at her back for hours turned icy. But more than that, a sense of dread seeped into her and slowly spread through her veins.
"He falls!"
The call came one second before Sakshi, already shifting her attention toward the Eye of StarSea, heard the thundering crack.
Tunis, large and dark, had fractured. Sharp streaks of creamy light burst through the fissures, but then, another crack, louder this time, rent Celesta.
Though Sakshi had thought the fracturing loud, she was proven wrong. A deafening boom assaulted her ears as Tunis exploded. Sakshi hadn't even gotten her hands to her ears before Celesta's explosion rendered her nearly deaf. Darkness descended in the space of a blink. Stardust and starshards shot from where the two stars had been like a three-dimensional ripple. So powerful was the force, that it took mere seconds for the the shrapnel to expand from the high sea to the open sea where it pummeled the Dobaara.
The Dobaara shuddered and rocked beneath Sakshi. Clambering for a handhold, Sakshi barely managed to grip the raised edge of the bow before another impact sent the ship reeling in the other direction. As she clung to the ship, Sakshi coughed on the plumes of stardust, hissing as tiny razor sharp starshards nicked her arms, legs and face and embedded in the iron-wood of the starship.
"Retract the Sails!" With her ears ringing in pain, Sakshi barely heard Kuldeep's command. Even the cacophany of panicked shouts, raging currents, and starshard impacts was muffled.
A piece of holey silicon-cloth spattered with blood drifted to aether in front of her. "Not again," she muttered. She gritted her teeth. It was not a Monster attack, but her crew faced great danger, and this time would be different.
She waited until the ship righted itself, then released her hold, using the tension in her life line to swing left as she lunged for a part of the edge farther from the point of the bow. Just in time, her fingers closed on the ledge. A violent aether current collided with the ship, and it rocked again. The ship was doused with aether. Sakshi's hands burned with icy pain, and her grip began to slip.
Knowing she could not hold on until the ship was righted, and that she was likely to be tossed again anyway, Sakshi released her hold while the ship was still at a 30 degree angle. She slid across the iron-wood deck toward the post she was tied to, her arms outstreatched. With a painful thunk, Sakshi's right arm caught on the foremast. Though her bones and muscles screamed in pain, Sakshi leveraged herself ontop of the mast. As the ship righted, Sakshi fought for footholds. She found little purchase. But, as the ship jerked again, Sakshi braced her feet against the mast and wrapped her arms about it. She yelped, her right arm shooting with hot pain. But fear of being jerked through the air by her stomach or tumbling into the seething aether outweighed the agony, and she clung on.
As the ship righted, then rolled the other direction, Sakshi looped her legs on the mast and hung like a sloth. There, time slowed as she watched a cloud of dust spew from each of the falling stars in the direction of the open sea. The speckled mass expanded, raining into all
Seven Seas. But, streaking through the dust came two large multifaceted crystaline objects. Faster than the dust, they broke through the cloud, creating mini plumes, and raced downward.
The sun and moonhearts!
All sense of pain and panic evaporated. All Sakshi saw was the moonheart. Sputtering black crystal plumeting. She tracked the prize, a painful need eclipsing all other desires.
"Land in the Azure Sea," she commanded the moonheart. Let Keol be right. "Come to me."
The thrill of anticipation built within Sakshi, slowly consuming every part of her. The moonheart dropped into a pool of aether close to the Dobaara.
Sakshi shouted in triumph. "There!," she called, "There!"
But the crew did not seem to answer. Currents raged, solar winds were gone. And the Dobaara and her crew flailed about in a frenzy.
Sakshi tried to release her hold on the mast - to find a way to be heard by someone, anyone. The moonheart was so close. It was within her reach. Surely, this crew could discard maddness for a moment.
But her cries went unheeded. With a shout of dispair, Sakshi cast her eyes to where the moonheart had fallen. The currents had changed, and pools of complete void blossomed in the expanse. With a painful thud of her heart, Sakshi realized that the moonheart might be anywhere now.
Her limbs went limp. No! All the preparation. All the dreams. It was within her grasp mere moments ago. She shook her head. It must be there. She must get there.
Even StarSea wanted her to get the moonheart, Sakshi thought, as the Dobaara was thrown into in an unexpectedly still eddy. Sakshi didn't hesitate. She released the mast, landing with a splash upon the slick iron-wood deck. She ran, or more accurately slid, to the life boat containers, searching for the lever which would open the encasement and drop the small starship into the aether. She'd go herself if the crew was unwilling.
A roar rent the air. Sakshi froze. She recognzied the cry of Monsters. For it was clearly more than one. Before her, a writhing mass three times bigger than the Dobaara burst through the aether from the Deep Sea. It took a moment for Sakshi to realize she was seeing Monsters locked in battle.
Shrieks, roars, gutteral echoes joined by the sickening sound of tearing flesh - the sounds of the battle were terrifying. But it was as the creatures broke free from each other and she could see them individually that her blood ran cold.
The three Cardinal Monsters, warring leaders of the Deep Sea, were only a few dozen nautical miles from the Dobaara. The glowing eyes of the
Giant King Crab, the
Kraken, and the
Sea Dragon locked onto each other. Sakshi breathed in a raspy breath.
So, she thought, this was to be her fate. The moonheart, her goal, her need - she would never possess it. Possession. The warnings of the mystic on Palíponi echoed in her mind. The Age of Mortals has come to an end.
As the Sea Dragon shot into motion, snaking toward the Kraken, Sakshi recalled her words to Kuldeep. I am a starhunter. Monster attacks will happen. And this time would be different.
"Sea Dragon!" she cried, "Kraken! King Crab!" With an about face, she darted for her post at the bow of the ship as fast as the undulating starship would allow. Finally, she was seeing what she should have long ago. Starship Dobaara was ruinously damaged. Newly constructed masts and sails were down. Crewmates were injured and terrified. Even Kuldeep scrambled to tend to swain under heavy posts or impaled by starshards and shattered iron-wood.
The Open Sea raged around them. Currents shuttered and shifted, mist thin regions of aether pooled and spouted. All around them, empty pockets of void grew. They were lucky the starship hadn't been thrown into a void. Plummeting through that emptiness would likely bring death, and ensured unpredictable dangers for any who survived the descent.
"Sea Dragon!" Sakshi cried again. She grabbled grabbed the line for the fore solar sail, and pulled. The sail retracted. "King Crab!" With every cry, more of the crew paid her heed. People began to act. Some were slow by necessity, others almost too hasty, but the crew was coming together.
And just in time.
The Valmis Current lurched, and far ahead curved into the path of the battling monsters. Then with whiplash speed, the direction of the aether reversed. The monsters roared, but kept battling as the aether rushed them directly at the Starship Dobaara.
"To your posts, now!!" Kuldeep was beside Sakshi, shoving a harpoon gun into her hands, bumping her tender arm. "Hard Starboard! To Palíponi!" Sakshi nodded, despite the pain. She'd lowered her sail and could not help those in the engine room, but she could take aim and wait as roiling aether pitched the starship violently.
The starship was turning, but it was so slow. Too slow. The battling Cardinal Monsters were getting closer. Though there was still a Nautical mile between her and them, flecks of aether displaced by their haphazard movements splashed Sakshi's face. The more the Dobaara turned, the closer the monsters got. Closer, closer closer, until the writhing limbs swung within feet of the starship. Finally, the bow of the Dobaara faced mostly away from the monsters, but that only heightened the anxiety because all Sakshi could do was stare through the wreckage on deck at the tails, pincers, and tentacles which flailed about
One of the Kracken's tentacles collided with Dobaara first. The thin end flicked across the crooked masts, pulling the ship into an acute angle. Sakshi jabbed the harpoon end of her gun into the deck, and clung to it with her uninjured arm. When the tentacle had passed, the starship recoiled, rocketing a few of the crew into the air, life lines yanking them back down. One missed the Dobaara and splashed into the aether. Crewmates pulled on her rope, struggling to get her back onboard.
"Faster!" Kuldeep and at least a dozen other voices cried together.
The rocking of the ship kept undoing the progress, but finally, the woman was back on board, soaked and shivering.
Mere degrees from a full about face, a massive wing-finned claw rose from the aether, hovering above the Dobaara. The span of the limb was larger than the entire ship, and powerful enough to propel the crystal scaled creature it was attached too.
"Dust the drives! Now!"
The starship jolted forward, but wasn't quite headed the right direction. Though they still turned Starboard, there was a pocket of void growing to the port side. Sakshi screamed as the starship raced along the edge of the current, tilting dangerously toward the emptiness. But with a shutter, the navigator slammed the helm starboard, and the Dobaara crashed back into the aether with a splash.
For just a moment, Sakshi thought they were safe. But then, dissonant shrieks pierced the air, and Sakshi watched as the Sea Dragon closed its jaw around the King Crab's claw. The two of them wrestled madly.
"Full dust!"
But Sakshi knew it was going to be close.
She couldn't get the harpoon out of the deck, so she detatched it from the barrel, loading the replacement secured to the top of the gun. Other crew members followed suit.
The dragon flung the King Crab into the air. The crab clicked hectically. Sakshi took aim, waiting for the monster to flip in the air so the soft underbelly was visible.
"Fire!" she shouted. Projectiles streaked toward the King Crab, striking and embedding. The creature roared, in pain, anger, or annoyance, but the force of the volley was too little to slow or change the trajectory. With a sickening crash, the soft belly of the crab slammed into the aft gunwale, it's claws swiping in the air, never finding purchase.
The collision propelled the Dobaara faster while the King Crab, momentum halted by the starship, flailed in the aether. Sakshi marvelled. She hadn't thought they'd survive that.
The now irate King Crab reared up in the aether, one eye turned on the Dobaara, the other at the tumbling Sea Dragon and Kraken.
Slamming her heel into the iron-wood board, Sakshi splintered a weakpoint, and then wrestled the embedded harpoon free. She loaded and aimed at the crab.
It felt like all of time passed in the space of the few seconds before the King Crab charged. Visions of yesteryear, today, and tomorrow coalesced. Sakshi's first step on the Dobaara, her dismissal of the mystic, the future of renown she craved: all of Sakshi's life centered on this moment.
Here, now, she was making her stand. Tunis and Celesta were gone, their starhearts swallowed in the madness. Without them, what was she? And what was StarSea?
The King Crab roared. The Kraken and Sea Dragon responded in kind.
Sakshi narrowed her gaze, shoulders back in a show of defiance. Monsters, madness, starfalls. They added up to one thing.
"I am a starhunter!" Sakshi shouted as the next volley of harpoons flew.
The Age of Monsters was here, but so was Sakshi and so was the Dobaara. They'd braved the Seven Seas before, and they'd brave them still. Her crew was good, and they'd get better whether the new stars favored them or not. Struggle was never surrender.
Let Tunis fall.
Let Apocalypse rage.
Let the new eye come.
Whoa! What an absolute blast I jus5 had! I really want Alaskin King Crab for dinner!!! It reminds me of Sinbad, Pirates of the Caribbean and Stardust! I felt like I was right there shooting Harpoons and dodging star shards! She has got to find a way to get the Moon Star in the next installment! Love, love love it!!!