Masters of the Sky

Chapter 5 Will You Follow Me Into The Darkness?

Celia reached the hangar cave, almost running, as there was no time to lose. She was still furious, hurt, and bitter, trying to recoil from the blow her supervisor had just delivered. But she was also convinced that she had no other choice now. The time for compromise and cowering under the rule of others was over. She had enough influence and resources to break free, and she would not spend another five years waiting for the next opportunity like that.

When she reached the ship, she eyed the metal clasps and chains keeping the hull in place.

"Rhody!" she called.

The female engineer peeked down from the deck at her. "What's up, boss?"

"Come down here. I need you."

Without second-guessing, the woman slid from the line so graceful as if she was doing it thousands of times before. Which she probably did. Celia didn't waste time on empty pleasantries.

"I need you to take down all the safety holders."

Rhody's eyes widened. "But boss! She won't be stable. If she tips to the side, she will fall and crush at cave's floor! The amount of damage that would cause─"

Celia grabbed her shoulder and squeezed, interrupting her. "Percy will fly in a matter of minutes, Rhody. I need to remove anything that would keep her down."

The engineer paled. "Fly? But what if─"

"We don't have time for that now. I wouldn't do it if it were impossible, trust me. But the time has come. We must set Percy free of her chains."

Rhody pursed her lips coloured with blue paint, torn between common sense and the trust she had for Celia, but after a moment of hesitation, she straightened her back and nodded. "I'll get it done, boss." She turned on her heel and ran towards the stern, where two other people worked. "Ray! Cole! Move your arses here! I need you to help me take down all the safety clamps."

"What? Did you inhale too much smoke on your way here today?" asked a young man with a pale face smudged with soot.

"One more word, and I'll make you scrape algae from the keel for the rest of your miserable life!"

Celia didn't wait to hear the whole bickering exchange of her crew, as she knew Rhody would get things done as she always did. Instead, she climbed up the rope ladder to the deck, and the moment her feet touched the polished wood, a screeching cloud of feathers fell on her shoulder, almost toppling her.

"Boss is back!" Sir Prancer announced as if everyone had to hear it and then playfully pecked her ear.

"I'm glad to see you too, Sir Prancer, but I have no time to play now." She produced a little crumbled biscuit from one of her many pockets and offered it to the overexcited bird. "I need to call all the crew to the deck as soon as possible. Do you think you can do that for me?"

The parrot gobbled the treat and jumped into the air again. "Red alert! Red alert! All hands on deck! Red alert!"

Once Celia made sure Sir Prancer made enough racket to alert all the crew in the cave, she rushed below deck to find Theo. The lower she ventured into the ship, the hotter it got. She ordered the team to start up the boilers earlier that day. It took a few hours to heat all the water to the level that produced enough steam to push all the propellers. But judging by the temperature rise and a low rumble of the machinery, the ship was ready to move.

Celia made her way to the engine room, which was much busier than when she had visited before. Two men were handling the valves checking meters to ensure the pressure was on the desirable level in all places. They nodded in greetings when they spotted Celia.