Releasing the scales, Moonfeather dropped to the littered deck and rolled away from the writhing snake, seeking protective cover underneath a smashed storage locker. The moment she was clear, the last Amsterdam rocketed from the ship’s battery, slamming directly into the open mouth of the heaving beast. A strident fireball removed its head completely, hot gobbets of flesh and shrapnel peppering the surviving crew members in a gloriously grisly spray. The whole tremendous length of the serpent shuddered so hard it seemed as if the ship had run aground.