In Between The Ends

Chapter Twenty Nine

Mikasa released her breath in a sigh of relief from where she laid concealed underneath the bramble of a wiry tree nestled along an outcropping that looked over the port.

Following what appeared to be a tense stalemate, the soldiers on the pier were now dragging a small woman from her ship and along the docks to the main building. The woman was thanking them fervently now, tears rolling steadily down her bruised and bloody face.

This girl can act, I'll give her that. Mikasa thought, trying to inspect the woman as much as she could before she vanished through the doors below. Armin has spoken frequently of this Arya's kindness, of her skill in both combat and medical practice. He was convinced of her ability to see this mission through, and although Mikasa was not exactly quick to put her trust into this unknown person, Armin was very rarely wrong and deserved the benefit of the doubt.

Feeling mostly certain that the plan was still a go, she settled back down in her hollow and waited.

Hours passed but eventually the doors to the complex opened once more, revealing a small envoy that encircled the woman yet again, though this time she was walking freely between them. The group headed for the stables, and within minutes they were racing along the dirt path that headed Northward, a small cart holding Arya directly in the middle.

So, she's important and convincing enough to be seen by the Council. Mikasa mused as she slid down the far embankment from her hiding spot and hurried to where her own horse was tacked. Jumping into the saddle she turned herself around and took off into the hot sand, maintaining her distance behind the dunes but keeping Arya in her sight at all times.

Who is this woman?

     Sweat was dripping down the side of Oz's neck as he barked out orders to the crew and frantically worked the controls. The Northern tip of the island was closing in on them now, massive dark peaks breaking through the clouds and piercing the sky.

"Well, here goes nothing." Reiner mumbled as the rest of the team rushed to the forward bulkhead, staring incredulously out the front windows.

"Initiate manual control!"

The airship gave a sudden lurch sending several of them careening into the wall, then it began to climb steadily up from their original cruising altitude. It didn't take long for their initial triumph to turn sour though, as the mountains were still approaching much too fast.

"Oz, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but we are about to be bugs on a windshield." Levi said through gritted teeth, yanking Gabi and Falco to him and gripping tightly to a support beam.

"We are coming in too hot! Change engine trajectory; push us up and back!"

The plane gave another enormous jerk and their speed slowing dramatically. With a grunt Jean reached out and grabbed Connie by the back of his shirt as he was thrown forward by the momentum, the rest of them holding on to whatever they could to keep themselves upright. Even with the engines pointed away from the island, their window of opportunity was shrinking fast.

Giving the engines everything they had, Oz gripped the wheel in front of him and yanked it as far back as he could. The plane's nose tipped upward, and when the sheer cliff faces were a hairs breath away, the company closed their eyes and waited with bated breath for the inevitable impact.

It never came. Peering through half squinted eyes, they could see Oz grinning wildly from ear to ear and hear him crying with jubilation at the landscape before them. Dawn was breaking behind the plane as they soared over mountain tops the old Paradisians had dubbed Marotsara, the first jagged peaks skimming dangerously close to the underside of their airship.