Encounter at Epira

The
Embassy ballroom was the most extraordinary place Jacob had ever
seen. Located in the heart of Tsukonian territory, the R.O.M.A.N
embassy there was hosting a fundraising event to support native
American tribes that had been affected by the destructive, ongoing
War of the Americas. Jacob knew little of the war or the politics
involved, but was amazed at the sights he was seeing in this
building.

The
room was topped with a large and beautiful sunroof, letting in the
fading evening sun. Whatever illumination wasn't provided by this
source, the electric light fixtures scattered throughout made up for,
slowly brightening more and more as the sun set.

Massive
pillars lined the walls and the corridors between rooms, but Jacob
couldn't tell whether these were supportive or decorative. Even if he
could tell the difference, it wouldn't have mattered. He was much too
distracted by the spread of food that had been laid out. He had been
born and raised in the Tsukonian territories of America, never having
traveled elsewhere, but the R.O.M.A.N embassy had gone out of their
way to provide ample regional food from nearly every nation. Falafel
from the Holy Robison Empire. Sushi and teriyaki from Brewtan. Haggis
from Los Lobos. Everywhere he looked, mouth watering delicacies, many
of which he had never seen or experienced before.

After
trying the haggis from Los Lobos, he decided maybe not all of it was
mouth watering after all.

Everywhere
in the building were dignitaries dressed in their finest outfits.
Most he didn't recognize, but it was clear from their gowns they were
all fabulously rich. Not a trace of dirt, scuff, or tear among them.
He desperately hoped nobody could see the small patches and stitching
lines in his own clothes.

The
entire room echoed with the sounds of the small orchestra playing old
pieces by Lewdwig Baitoven. No true dancing was taking place, but the
gentle swaying by the attendees showed that all were hearing it
faintly, underpinning their conversations about economy this,
Alphabet Plan that, impending human rights violation trial here,
plans for a new URM embassy there. Jacob understood little, and in
fact he cared very little. He had but one very, very particular
reason for wanting to attend this event.

It
was big news that, for the first time in over twenty years, legendary
Veasles doctor Darwin Ochoa would be visiting this region of
Tsukonian territory, having spent a good amount of time in Central
America dealing with the minor Veasles outbreak down there. Doctor
Ochoa was not of a hardy disposition, and despite his reputation and
associates, he personally did not enjoy excitement in his life. In a
place like this, Doctor Ochoa was in his element, surrounded by
soothing music, ball gowns, tuxedos, and the best structural designs
the R.O.M.A.N architects could muster.

Jacob
was ecstatic by the opportunity to meet this great man. For as long
as he could remember, the life of a doctor is what appealed to him.
Who better to look to as a role model than Ochoa, the only man in
recent history to single-handedly halt a pandemic?

It
seemed for the first time since the event began, the crowd around
Darwin Ochoa was thinning. Jacob saw his chance and jumped for it. He
marched directly in front of the doctor and extended his hand.

“Hi.
Good evening, I'm Jacob Marcellus. I've been a big fan my whole life.
It's honestly a privilege to meet you.”

“You
have a confident handshake,” smiled Ochoa. “Always a good sign in
a man. You're Tsukonian?”

“Yes
sir. Born and raised.”

“You
have a distinctly Shanduchan surname.”

“My
father was a Shanduchan soldier. He was stationed on the nearby
border for most of his career. He was killed fighting Hadropsey when
I was just four years old.”

“I'm
very sorry for the loss. I personally had a friend fighting Hadr...”

Before
he could finish, he was interrupted by a resounding crash. The sounds
of small explosions echoed through the room, followed shortly
thereafter by rattles, tumbles, and finally an crushing roar of glass
shattering. Jacob looked up and saw the entire sunroof crumbling and
a rain of glass shards pouring out all over the embassy guests. In
the midst of it, two figures in malfunctioning parachutes tumbled
down and landed on the ballroom floor with a resounding thud.

Almost
miraculously, the two figures stood, shook off the broken glass, put
back on their raggedy top hats, and walked over towards Jacob. They
were clad in what formerly were probably lovely evening gowns, but
now had been afflicted by the wear and tear of years of abuse, engine
oil, patches, and burns. They had probably been made of white
material and were now rendered a deep brown.

The
two figures stood aside Darwin, each taking one of his arms and
giving him a kiss on his respective cheeks.

“Jacob,”
sighed Darwin, smacking his own face in the most dignified manner he
could, “Please meet my wife Louise...”

“Charmed,”
she said in the most pretentious accent she could manage, deftly
lifting her hand for him to kiss.

“...
and my daughter Abigail.”

“Delighted,”
responded the young woman on Darwin's right, giving a quick curtsy.

“Oh,
honey!” said Louise, turning her attention back to her husband.
“Abs and I just worked out the most exciting new self destruct
method for the ship!”

###

After
their inauspicious introduction, Louise and Abigail settled into the
groove of the party. As if a light switch was thrown, they became the
model party guests, engaging in polite chatter with the guests.
Meanwhile Darwin occupied himself with talking to the building's
faculty, working out how much quin he would have to pay to get the
roof repaired to a satisfactory degree.

Jacob
opted to simply wait and bide his time. He had so much to ask Darwin
about, but he would patiently sit aside until Darwin was good and
ready. Picking through the Brewtanian sushi for pieces without glass
shards, he glanced over at Louise. She looked to be in her
mid-to-late 40s, but had the vibrancy and enthusiasm of a teenager.
What Jacob couldn't see was that Louise was in hell. She loved her
husband dearly, but the world he inhabited was so far removed from
what she wanted in life. Happily, the majority of their lives were
spent in mutually agreeable projects, and whenever she went a little
off the deep end in her life choices, he almost never complained. As
recompense for this, she decided she could endure being a chatty
socialite a few nights out of the year. Darwin put her in this
situation so rarely that it was the least she could do for him. Plus,
she was an incredible actress, so no one was ever able to tell how
miserable she was in the midst of all this.

Jacob's
glance moved over towards Abigail. She looked to be about 20,
slightly taller than her mother, and definitely possessed a greater
level of grace. Unlike Louise, Abigail was born into the upper class
world. She inherited her father's knack for socializing, and then was
simply corrupted by her mother over the years. Abigail could now
joyfully attend an aristocratic fundraiser just as much as sally off
to a war zone with mercenaries.

Darwin
did his best, but Louise was a terrible influence.

Despite
the fact that her parents owned a luxurious home in R.O.M.A.N's
Louisiana territory, they spent most of their time on board the
zeppelin they owned (or rather stole after killing the original
owner, PG Copper). Due to their almost nomadic lifestyle, Abigail
never received a standard secular schooling, being taught instead by
her parents in almost every field. Book knowledge from her father on
all subjects, and street smarts from her mother.

In
a rare moment of both her parents being equally proud of her, she
argued viciously against a Los Lobian about why the 12:10 defense was
the best strategy yet devised by the Shanduchan military, while
simultaneously repairing the aft propeller of a felled airship.

The
Los Lobian soldier refused to concede defeat, insisting he could
easily circumvent the 12:10 defense. One month later he was killed in
battle.

Growing
up in such a way, Abigail was left almost without direction in life.
She had so many interests that she simply didn't have time to pursue
them all. By this point, all her friends had careers or families, or
at the very least a sense of purpose. Abigail envied that and desired
it for herself. Making things worse, her parents had long promised
her that when Darwin finally retired, they would return to their
house and give her the zeppelin – the *Devastator*,
so named by PG Copper – to do whatever she wanted with. The
gift made her very happy, for she loved the ship dearly. But absolute
freedom terrified her. What would she do with it? Most of her life
had been following her parents and sharing in their activities.

As
she mingled with the crowd, she didn't let on the overwhelming fear
she had. The fact her parents had already told her this fundraiser
would feature Darwin announcing his retirement just brought the
reality crashing down on her. But she held her head high, played the
perfect (if somewhat disheveled and slightly bloody) party guest.

Jacob
saw none of this fear in her eyes. He did see the cuts all over her
exposed skin and wondered if she was OK. Despite the high caliber of
guests at this function, no one seemed to offer any kind of
assistance. He opted to do it himself.

“Hi,
sorry to interrupt,” he began, pausing as she turned her head to
see him.

“Oh
hi!” she responded, beaming brightly. “You were the guy daddy was
talking to.”

“Yeah.
Abigail, right?”

She
nodded enthusiastically. Her eyes glowed in such a way it made
everyone who talked to her feel like they were the most important
thing in the world to her. Jacob was briefly distracted by this and
almost forgot what he had come over for.

“I
couldn't help but notice the cuts,” he said, finally remembering.
“Do you need any bandages or antiseptic or anything?”

“What,
these?” she asked, glancing down at herself. “This is hardly the
worst I've experienced. Not even the worst this week.”

“Should
still get it looked after. I brought some stuff with me, I can help
out.”

“What
kind of a guy brings bandages to a fancy dress party?”

“A
doctor does. Well, a doctor in training. Still in school, but they've
started giving me work experience. Emergency room stuff and all
that.”

“Admit
it. You just want a closer look at my legs.”

“I
beg your pardon?” he asked, taken aback.

She
laughed hysterically at the look on his face, remembered where she
was, and visibly tried becoming more dignified. “Yes. Thank you.
Bandages would be most appreciated.” She looked down at the small
amounts of blood dripping off her ankle to the floor. “Perhaps most
appreciated by the cleaning staff.”

“I
think they have bigger concerns,” he added, gazing over at the
small swarm of people sweeping up the broken glass that was spread
across the room.

He
brought her over to one of the many chairs on the very edge of the
ballroom, letting her sit as he rifled through his bag. A quick look
told him she had many more cuts than he had bandages, so he set about
prioritizing.

“What
brings you to this shindig?” she asked, breaking the silence, as
well as his concentration.

“Honestly?
I came to meet your father.”

“Cool.
Why?”

“I'm
an aspiring doctor. Who else would I want to meet?”

“Well
I get that. But I mean, what's the objective? What did you hope to
accomplish by meeting him?”

He
paused. “Nothing really. Just wanted to meet him. See what he was
like in person.”

“I
can't imagine you would have many opportunities for soul searching in
the middle of a huge crowd like this. Especially not after we
interrupted you. Sorry about that.”

“Still
the best opportunity I had. I didn't think I'd ever even get to see
him in person.”

“Hey
ma!” she shouted partway across the room. “Can we have this guy
over for dinner sometime?”

Louise
glanced over at the young man kneeling in front of her daughter
applying bandages to her legs. “Sure,” she responded with a
shrug, and returned to the conversation she was pretending to enjoy.

“Uh,
what?” was all Jacob could manage.

“You.
Us. Zeppelin. Dinner. You can spend some time with dad in more
privacy.”

“Oh!
Thanks!”

“No
problem. I owed you one.” She leaned in close and whispered in his
ear. “And then instead of champagne we have some
King Ian's Premium Whiskey stashed away on our zeppelin. So
strong it's illegal on this continent.”

###

The
moment the whiskey touched his tongue, Jacob doubled over coughing.
Louise laughed heartily, took a swig, and broke down into coughs as
well. Abigail followed suit with the same reaction.

“It's
so strong,” Jacob croaked.

“Never
understood why you insist on drinking that swill,” muttered Darwin,
sipping his own drink.

“Because
it's fun!” replied Louise, who then took another shot and doubled
over again.

“No,”
Jacob retorted. “It really isn't.”

“Here,”
offered Darwin. “Try mine.”

Jacob
sipped it gingerly and was pleasantly surprised. “What's this?”

“Martini.
The gin we got during our last trip in Brewtan. They make enormous
batches of it. In some regions, their entire economy is founded on
production and sale of massive quantities of this gin. The vermouth
however,” he said, a wistful look appearing in his eye. “The
vermouth is rare. Harvested from the finest grapes in R.O.M.A.N's
European territories. Italy. Conditions that year were perfect. An
unusually dry year led to the richest flavor they ever yielded. Never
in history has there been a finer vermouth.”

“He
bought the entire stock,” added Louise.

“Five
hundred bottles,” he added, ogling the martini glass with
adoration. “Worth every penny. We've got about a hundred fifty
left. Savor it.”

As
they talked, a ten year old boy walked out of the kitchen and into
the dining room, carrying several trays of food.

“Who
is this?” Jacob asked.

“My
brother,” replied Abigail. “Tonight was his turn to cook.”

“You
have a brother?”

“It'll
be two before you know it,” Louise added, a hand resting on her
stomach.

“Why
do you think I'm finally taking a retirement?” asked Darwin. “I'm
too old to handle all of this now.”

“Oh
come on,” Louise said, smacking his arm. “You love it.”

The
ten year old boy put down the trays of food and walked off again.

“Not
much one for words, is he?” asked Jacob.

“He's
probably taking his food to eat in the library,” Louise explained.
“He's apparently the only one of us who's allowed to do that.”

“Because
he's the only one who doesn't make a mess in there while doing it,”
argued Darwin.

“So
what is this about retirement?” Jacob asked, very much wanting to
change the subject before the minor argument brewing had an
opportunity to escalate.

“My
profession, though rewarding, has been very exhausting. After about
forty years of it, I finally decided it was time to relax a little.
We're going back to our house before the new boy comes...”

“Jacobim,”
Louise interrupted.

“...and
we'll be leaving this ship to Abigail, to do with it as she pleases.”

“Wow!
Quite an inheritance. And what do you plan to do with it?”

“I
have no idea yet,” replied Abigail as she stared down at the floor.

Jacob
was surprised by the somewhat despondent tone she answered with, and
very much wanted to ask further out of concern, but the topics of
conversation were flying by at a breakneck pace that he was having a
difficult time keeping up with. They went through sharing older
stories of his work, his groundbreaking experiments with the Veasles,
their involvement with Ojinjintka that got them labeled as wanted
criminals in Los Lobos, and Darwin's impending retirement.

The
night flew by, and before Jacob knew it, it was time for him to
leave. Darwin and Louise bade him good night and left. As they were
walking out of sight, Darwin tripped over something and nearly fell
down.

“Blast
this monstrosity! Why aren't you dead yet Maggie?”

“Please
honey, be kind to the cat.”

Abigail
walked him towards the exit gangway. Just before reaching it they
passed the enormous library the Ochoa family kept. Sitting inside was
Abigail's brother, who looked up and gave a nod as he then went back
to reading.

As
Jacob walked out, Abigail stood in the doorway watching him leave, a
look on her face indicating she was hoping he would say or do
something before going. He couldn't think of what exactly it should
be, so he simply left.

###

Just
under a year later, the scientific community was abuzz with the news
that Darwin Ochoa was about to release his memoirs, followed by an
extensive, round the world book tour. Jacob had few memories that he
treasured as much as his two encounters with the Ochoa family, so he
eagerly bought a copy as soon as it was released. He was startled to
see, at the conclusion of the book, himself getting a mention.

“*As*
I was in the process of penning this, I had the good fortune to meet
a young doctor in training named Jacob. In the few conversations I
had with him, I was overjoyed to hear his enthusiasm for his work and
his determination to advance the medical field in the future. Though
I regret reaching a point in my life where retirement has become
necessary, I am firmly confident that the current generation will be
guaranteed the best of care through the hands of this young man and
his many contemporaries*.”*

He
quivered with excitement. Darwin would be passing through Jacob's
hometown on the book tour. He simply *had*
to go see him again and get this signed.

###

When the day came, there was an extensive line leading out the
university bookstore where Darwin was to be signing copies. Jacob
quickly calculated the speed the line was advancing at and realized
he would probably be standing here two hours before getting to see
Doctor Ochoa. He briefly wondered if there were a way to save his
spot in the line and leave, when his thoughts were interrupted by a
woman's voice shouting his name. He looked around and finally saw
Louise standing in the doorway waving at him.

“Jacob! What are you doing in that dumb line? Get up here!”

There was considerable grumbling from the crowd as Jacob left his
spot and moved up to the front, but they were somewhat appeased at
seeing he wasn't moving to the front of the line, but rather stepping
off to the side to talk with Louise and Abigail while Darwin
continued with the autographs and the chit chat. He became so
engrossed in his conversation with them that, before he knew it, the
line was gone and the bookstore was closing. Darwin approached, shook
out his own cramping hand, and hastily signed Jacob's book.

“And done. Now, where to? I'd very much like some dinner.”

They
found themselves a beautiful rooftop restaurant, giving a stunning
view of the setting sun over the vast desert stretching out ahead of
them. As they finished their dinner, Jacob kept noticing Louise
nodding at Abigail, as though trying to prompt something from her.
Abigail remained conspicuously silent throughout. Finally Jacob was
too curious and couldn't hold it in anymore.

“What in the world is going on between you two?”

Louise, in response, continued staring at Abigail, who kept silent.
Finally Louise sighed, and turning to Jacob, explained. “Last year
when you were with us you asked Abs what she intended to do with the
ship. She has an answer now.”

“Really?” asked Jacob, looking over to Abigail. “That's great!
What's the plan now?”

She sighed and spoke up. “At one of the stops on the book tour so
far, we attended a festival with numerous authors giving lectures
about their books and the stories behind them. One of the men was a
conservationist talking about the effects of war and the associated
technological developments have been having on nature, and how the
rate of animal endangerment and extinction has been climbing
drastically. He emphasized that part of the problem is not enough
people helping in conservation efforts. I tracked him down afterward
and asked what I could realistically do. Turns out, quite a lot. I'm
set to inherit a large family fortune, as well as one of the most
well built and reliable airships ever made. I could easily fund
projects, as well as transport conservationists and scientists and
veterinarians all over the world, even into remote and seemingly
inaccessible areas.”

“That's amazing, though I don't quite get why you were shy about
speaking up.”

“You see, for this to work, I would need a crew.”

“And?”

Abigail fell silent.

“She wants you, dummy,” Louise contributed helpfully.

Abigail buried her head in her hands. She was stout of heart and
mind, but her mother did manage to put her in embarrassing situations
very easily. “It makes sense,” she tried defending. “A ship
traveling to hostile environments needs a doctor.”

“Oh,
*sure*,” continued
Louise. “How about an experienced, well traveled doctor who knows
the world? Oh no, it *has*
to be the brand new kid who just recently graduated medical school
and … hang on, you have graduated medical school by now, right?”

“A few weeks ago, yeah.”

“Perfect,” she resumed, looking at Jacob. “You wanna leave your
nice cushy job and sail out to unknown realms to face unknown
hardships and diseases and get paid miserably for it all?”

Jacob grinned inwardly. “Actually, that sounds amazing, yeah.”

Louise stared at him with a look that could be only described as
pleasantly surprised. “I knew I liked this kid. Abs, you should
marry him, you know that?”

Abigail loudly protested that wasn't her motive behind inviting him
to be part of the crew.

###

Three years later Abigail and her crew were well established. From a
few cursory assignments they spiraled into becoming the go-to people
for unusual assignments. With so many resources going to equipping
the mercenary forces involved in the ongoing War of the Americas, it
turned out transport for scientists and the related equipment was a
large niche that needed filling. It turned out to be lucrative as
well.

Not that the money mattered to Jacob and Abigail. She had received
the ridiculous stipend from her parents, and since marrying her two
years ago Jacob had access to their now shared funds, so they
personally never accepted payment for their services. But the crew
did, and they appreciated it as a bonus to their regular salary. In
the three years Jacob and Abigail had been working at this, they had
gathered one of the most unique and skilled airship crews the world
had ever known.

Many of their destinations were remote, hostile, and difficult to
access regions of the world, so they spared no expense in finding the
best pilot available. After some searching, they came into contact
with Gideon Halifax, a hardened veteran from the Los Lobos National
Air Force. Abigail was distrusting of anyone from Los Lobos, seeing
as they generally considered her parents to be criminals, but Gideon
was different. From the time he was young, he had been a daydreamer,
a habit strongly discouraged by the Los Lobian society. His father
specifically was always telling him to get his head out of the
clouds. Still having that rebellious streak that is ingrained in Los
Lobians, Gideon chose to pursue a career as a pilot so that his head
would be literally in the clouds at all times, simply to spite his
father.

The fact that his parents were killed in a tragic accident shortly
thereafter that he adamantly refused to discuss. As far as anyone
could tell, he always started getting emotional when it came up, and
nothing is more shameful for a Los Lobos soldier than to be seen
crying or showing feelings. Especially in the presence of women.

As able of a mechanic as Abigail was, she wanted someone else to take
on the position full time. For this, they hired a young woman named
Cheche Adesina, originally from the Alssyrian territory called Kenya.
Cheche always had a knack for building, for picking apart and
reassembling in fantastical fashions. In Alssyria, the young were
typically prodded into whatever they show interest in, as long as it
ultimately serves the nation's betterment. So when news of the
Ochoa's great exploits in the Americas finally reached the ears of
Adesina family, they couldn't help but encourage their middle
daughter's flights of fancy. This interest, firmly staked in an
adoration for the legendary couple, blossomed eventually into a
career of aero and auto repairs of all kinds. When Cheche wasn't busy
repairing and reconstructing, she wiled away hours on her pet
project: a dual passenger biomemetic aircraft dubbed the Sapphire
Demoiselle.

She was very disheartened when she learned the *Devastator*
didn't have space on board for her to bring the Sapphire Demoiselle
with them, but when she was reassured that she would have ample time
between missions to tinker with it, she finally relented.

###

Realizing the massive quantities of supplies they would need at all
times, Abigail decided to bring the family accountant on board to
serve as a purser. Sigmund Wycliffe, 41 years old, was the son of her
parents' accountant, and had taken over the bulk of the work when his
father had reached retirement age. Darwin and Louise were content now
that their incomes had all but stopped (aside from occasional
royalties from the sale of his memoir) so they were more than happy
to let Sigmund join the *Devastator* crew from now on.

Sigmund himself was not necessarily so happy about leaving his office
job in order to set out for long trips into the unknown, but a job
was a job.

Obviously, traveling out to the most remote corners of the Earth
generally took quite a while, so not only did they constantly keep a
full stock of food, they knew long in advance they would be needing
the best chef they could find. Happily in this department, Jacob had
known exactly who to call.

Growing up in the same neighborhood as himself was Clarence
Mozzarella, a few years Jacob's senior. He had been constantly
ridiculed for his name as he grew, so finally he embraced it and
applied himself to becoming the greatest cook his schoolyard bullies
had ever known, just so he could refuse to serve them. Clarence was a
highly skilled man, but he had the potential to be incredibly petty.
Upon graduating from school, he set out on a solo backpacking trip
around the world for the sole purpose of being exposed to foreign
cuisines and, where possible, stealing the recipes. Literally, if
necessary.

When being hired for this trip, he repeatedly emphasized to Jacob
that there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Greece. And
Monaco. Also Kenya.

When the crew was being assembled, Jacob was impressed at how mild of
a group it was shaping up to be. Jacob breathed in inward sigh of
relief. He knew the Ochoa family's reputation, and it was seeming
that perhaps his life with Abigail would buck the trend of suddenly
getting tossed into chaos and murder.

His fears resurfaced when Abigail brought aboard Axeon Ordo.

Axeon Ordo grew up in a remote town of the Pendeross Kingdom, plagued
by pirates and robbers. He was reared reloading the guns of his
father and older brothers. When he grew old enough, he began to shoot
back with them. However, when he was just 22 years old, his hometown
was burned down in an attack by unknown assailants. The few survivors
gradually drifted away from their former home to seek a new life.
Axeon himself had nothing to do but travel around, taking any paying
job and acquiring new skills. Due to losing his home at a young age,
he decided the only things worth fighting for was money and himself.

As he came aboard the ship, Jacob withered in intimidation. Axeon was
wearing substantial body armor and was covered in weapons, with his
right hand wielding the largest and most ridiculous machine gun Jacob
had ever seen. Axeon's left hand held onto a sack slung over his
shoulder, which from the shape of it probably had more weapons and
armor in it.

“Uh, honey,” Jacob said as timidly as he could manage, “A
moment please?”

Abigail smiled and came over to his side. “Yes?”

“We're going on simple missions of, like, delivery, right?” She
nodded in reply. “Great. So what is this guy for?”

“I dunno. Sometimes things go south. I figured it might be best to
have someone qualified in defense, and who could teach us some
practical things to do in case of attack.”

“And you didn't think of running this by me first?”

“But I did!” she protested. “Don't you remember me suggesting
getting some security improvements for the ship?”

“Yeah. I thought you meant upgrading the locks or something.”

She giggled at his naivete. Jacob shrugged. Maybe it was a good idea.
He was familiar with what her mother was capable of when she felt the
responsibility for protecting everyone. It frequently ended in mass
destruction. However, to her credit, the people she was trying to
protect always came out of it OK.

He wasn't yet sure if Abigail had similar tendencies, or if she'd
inherited her father's mildness in this respect. Hopefully he
wouldn't have to find out. Hopefully this guy being responsible for
defense would keep her from doing anything crazy.

Throughout the three years, the crew had proven to be top tier
professionals that Jacob had no reason to worry about. Even their
personalities seemed to mesh, as they formed a tight knit group of
friends who were always watching one another's backs. Not that they
really encountered too many difficult situations where this was
needed.

Until their trip to Epira.

The mission seemed simple enough at the outset. A crew of zoologists
from Alssyria would need a pickup. They would be scouring the Pacific
ocean on board a ship offered them by the Royal Navy of Purv, but one
of their most sought after destinations would be inaccessible by sea.
They would need the *Devastator* to airlift them from their
vessel and take them to the nearby island Epira which was ringed by
cliffs that could be scaled only by a professional rock climber.
Unfortunately, the waves and sea breeze were usually so strong even a
professional would get thrown down and killed on the rocks below.
Hence, the Ochoa ship would take them straight to the top of the
island, deposit them, and wait there for about a week as the team did
their research. The crew loved the idea. None of them had ever seen
Epira, had never heard of the animals they were looking for, and were
all very much in the mood for a one week vacation.

Everything was going according to plan. They lifted the team of
zoologists easily. Gideon made easy work of navigating the
treacherous air currents up to the top of a cliff. They docked and
disembarked in high spirits. The zoologists leading them, they
marched off the cliff and into the lush green valley towards the
interior of the island, surrounded by mountains of incredible height.
After several hours of marching, the team of Alssyrians stopped to
set up camp, so the zeppelin crew followed suit. Cheche and Axeon
gathered all that was needed for a campfire, and Clarence set about
preparing one of his legendary fireside meals. They were strictly
forbidden from doing any hunting or fishing on the island, so
Clarence had been sure to bring an ample supply of meats.

They were also harshly ordered to not allow the ship's cat Maggie out
of the zeppelin. Cats like her had caused enough trouble amongst the
indigenous life forms of these islands already. They didn't need
anymore feline destruction.

After four days on the island, trouble hit. They were deep in the
jungle trying to locate a kakapo, the zoologists' main objective on
this island, when suddenly a horrific explosion was heard. They left
Axeon behind to keep watch over the zoologists as the rest of the
ship's crew ran to investigate. Realizing how much dense foliage they
had to navigate to get to a good vantage point, Cheche jumped on the
nearest tree and climbed with all her might. Reaching the top and
gazing out, she let out a blood curdling scream.

“What? What are you seeing?” Jacob shouted up at her.

“It's our ship! The *Devastator* is on fire!”

Without another word, they made a beeline towards where the ship had
been set to rest on land. Upon arriving, it was worse than they
thought. The explosion had clearly been their ship, and it had
inflicted massive damage. The fires weren't a big issue, the material
the balloons had been made of was similar material for bulletproof
vests, so the only fire was from the initial effect of the blast. The
blast, however, there was the trouble. The rudder was wrecked, and a
large portion of the ship's aft was ruined.

A cursory examination by Cheche told them they could fix the damage
with some difficulty, but in enough time to keep their original
intended departure date. The damage wasn't the true problem though.

“So what is?” asked Jacob.

“The answer to that lay in what should be an obvious question,”
she replied. “What caused this explosion? The ship had no real
problems when we landed.”

“What are you saying?”

“This was sabotage. Probably a homemade bomb.”

“By a crew member?” he asked quietly.

“Very unlikely. We've all been pretty much together this entire
time. I think there's someone else on this island. Someone who is not
happy about us being here.”

“If that's the case, why destroy the ship? Wouldn't they want us
off?”

“Not if they think we saw something they wanted to keep hidden.”

Jacob thought silently. Abigail spoke up. “Was any of the ship's
hold damaged?”

“I don't think so,” Cheche replied. “Why?”

“Get as many weapons as you can and arm everyone. We need to go
find Axeon and the other team we left behind.”

After arming the ship's crew and gathering whatever other supplies
they thought were of an immediate concern, they ran back to where
they had left Axeon. Rather than finding him and the zoologist team,
there were instead bodies scattered around in the clearing.

“There's at least seven,” said Sigmund. “Who are they? I don't
recognize any of them.”

“I'm no expert on this,” replied Gideon, “But these look like
pirates.”

“Any of them still alive?”

“Maybe, but more to the point, where's Axeon and the team?”

While scouting out the surrounding area, Abigail shouted. “Here! A
trail!” The crew ran along, and all saw Abigail was right. Axeon
had clearly been leaving a path behind himself for their benefit. His
survivalist instincts had kicked in. He hadn't led the team towards
the *Devastator*, that would be too obvious of a target. He was
leading them up a nearby mountain. He wanted the high ground.

Along the path there were random shell casings, giving the appearance
they'd been fighting while they ran. About a kilometer up was a small
clearing where it looked like a wounded man had fallen, only to be
lifted and carried. They couldn't tell if the wounded was one of
theirs or not.

###

Near the top of the mountain sat Axeon, panting heavily. Part of him
was enjoying this. It had been a long time since he'd been ambushed,
and he was happy his reflexes and quick response time hadn't left
him. They were attacked by over thirty men and he had lost none. One
with an injured leg, but it was a simple matter to carry the guy up
the mountain while laying suppressive cover fire. These naturalists
were usually skinny. It took hardly any effort to get him up to this
point.

Upon reaching a good defensive position, Axeon had organized the most
alert members of the team to take up positions all around to keep an
eye out. Far down he could faintly see some of these pirates
maneuvering around, trying to find a good trail to advance up the
mountain, but the only truly good path was the one Axeon sat at the
top of, daring the cowards to charge him. He knew they wouldn't. That
wasn't the pirate style. They'd wear themselves out searching for a
better route, which they wouldn't find. If they didn't attack by
nightfall, Axeon would be more than happy to bring the fight down to
them.

He took his eyes off the invaders for just a moment, looking up to
gauge how the weather was looking. It wasn't good. Clouds so dark
they were almost black. The breeze was whipping up as well. It would
become a raging storm, no doubt. His only hope was it would bypass
the island, although that didn't seem likely. His eyes fixed on the
pirates beneath him. Maybe he'd have to bring the fight to them
sooner than he thought.

His only real concern at the moment was the rest of his crew. They
were still shrouded in the dense jungle below. They probably couldn't
see the impending storm, and he didn't know if there were more
pirates waiting for them. If only there were a way to send them a
message. But then he thought about his employers. They're family of
the Ochoas. If anyone could overcome insane obstacles, it was them.
Plagues, mercenaries, bounty hunters, cyborgs, maniac renegade
generals, small children throwing snakes … they had seen it all and
flourished throughout. Axeon smiled widely to himself. They would be
fine.

###

Jacob and the rest of his team spotted the remainder of the pirates
before being spotted themselves. It seemed to the entire crew of the
*Devastator* that the pirates were totally unaware of their
existence, having bombed the ship and then pouncing on Axeon and his
group, thinking they were the only ones also on the island.

Jacob motioned silently with his hand for everyone to get down and
keep out of sight. He and Abigail made a quick reconnaissance, and
regrouped.

“I counted twenty three,” he whispered.

“Same,” she replied.

“Any ideas?”

“Well there's six of us. Up on the mountain is Axeon with the
zoologists. Typical of him, he's not even trying to hide. Looks like
he's taunting them and trying to get them to attack first. He's got
an excellent position, and definitely possesses the upper hand. I bet
as soon as we make ourselves known he'd jump in and offer help.”

Jacob did a quick calculation on the tip of his fingers. “So you're
suggesting we just run out, guns blazing, and hope to take on about
four men each with no casualties?”

“You have any better ideas? We have the element of surprise and
Axeon has the high ground. We have them trapped in the middle.”

Jacob and Abigail looked over at the four others. They simply
shrugged. They were confident in their bosses and would follow them
to the ends of the Earth, regardless of how insane their decisions
sounded.

“On three then?” Abigail asked, raising the rifle she had pulled
from the hold of their ship. Everyone nodded. She counted down three
… two …

She never got to one. In that briefest of moments, the storm hit the
island, the wind rushing in with such a roar that every other sound
was drowned out. Rather, she led by example, charging out of the
jungle and onto the mountain path, gun blazing.

In the chaos that ensued, Jacob couldn't tell anything that was
happening. He was a doctor and had received no training for this sort
of thing whatsoever. All he knew was the ones he didn't recognize he
was to fire at. The heavy rain and wind was making it difficult to
focus on anything at all. After what seemed like an eternity of
confusion to him, he looked behind and was greeted by the most
horrific storm he had ever seen. Through the din he could hear
exactly one thing, a voice shouting to him. His eyes searched in the
pounding rain until he spotted the source. Axeon was still in his
position, gesturing wildly for Jacob to come up to him. He clearly
had some form of shelter prepared for them. A ways ahead, Jacob could
see Abigail already making her way towards the offered refuge. As he
set out for the path, he looked behind and saw some of the crew,
still back towards the jungle. He took a step to help them, but
Sigmund saw and waved him away. They wouldn't make it up the
mountain, there were too many opponents between them. They would have
to take their chances in the jungle. Jacob reluctantly turned and ran
up the mountain. The closer he got, the more relief he felt. Axeon's
spot seemed to have a large cave which he had already moved all the
zoologists inside of.

Through the roar of the wind and rain, it became apparent this was no
simple storm. A full cyclone was taking shape and bearing directly
down onto them. As if to reemphasize the point, Jacob saw fallen
trees getting lifted and hurled through the air. Almost instantly, he
and Abigail as well were picked up and tossed aside. The last thing
he remembered before losing consciousness was himself being thrown
towards a large sheet of bedrock at an immense speed.

###

Abigail awoke first. She looked herself over, and was both relieved
at the lack of bullet holes, but alarmed by the size of the cuts and
bruises she had received. A quick check of all her joints revealed
immense pain, but nothing broken. At least nothing important.

Jacob had landed about thirty feet away, so she hobbled over to him.
Her face went pale as she saw his tibia had broken and a jagged
portion was sticking out through the skin. Her mind raced with ideas
about how to help him, until she angrily quit. Of all the things her
parents had taught her, helping trauma patients was not one. Her
father hoped she would never be exposed to this sort of thing, and
her mother never took injuries seriously enough to bother treating
them. She had personally never pursued learning anything of this sort
because that's what Jacob was for. What she knew she could do was get
her bearings. Jacob was alive and breathing, so when he awoke she
wanted to be able to have a ready plan to present to him that they
could begin working on executing.

Thankfully it seemed the cyclone hadn't blown them far. She couldn't
see any individuals, but she could at least see the mountain they had
been on before. Even more distant, she could see the wreckage of the
*Devastator*. It might not be such an easy task to repair it and
get it airborne now, but they would have to try their best. The rain
and wind were still oppressive, but at the very least it did seem the
cyclone itself had passed. Without leaving Jacob's side, she scanned
their surroundings and found what appeared to be a viable path back
to the mountain. That done, she gathered what supplies she knew
they'd need to fix Jacob's leg. Straight and study sticks for splint,
and the scarf around her waist would suffice for binding it all up.

It seemed like an insufferable amount of time, and he was still not
waking up, despite the pouring rain washing all over him. This is not
how she saw her life going with him. This is not how she wanted it to
end.

Her mind drifted back to when she first knew she liked him. It was
easy, it was the same day she'd met him. It was hardly love at first
sight, she barely noticed his presence when she met him, and his name
went right over her head. But after a while of mingling with party
guests, supposed humanitarians, here this apparently shy boy
practically forced her to sit down so he could take care of her. It
was at the point she knew she was at least going to ask him out for
dinner, and when he told her he was there to meet her father, she
jumped at the opportunity to make the arrangements herself. She was a
little disappointed when he left without expressing anything back to
her, but she wasn't surprised.

As she continued sitting by his side in the torrents of rain, she
then thought to when she knew that he loved her back. It was the
following year when her mother had told Jacob about the plan of what
to do with the zeppelin. After the most embarrassing conversation
she'd ever experienced, her parents walked back to the ship, leaving
her on the rooftop restaurant with Jacob alone. He started off
simply, asking further questions about why she had chosen this
course, why she wanted him specifically for the ship's doctor. At a
certain point, without changing his tone of voice or the subject they
were discussing, he simply reached his hand down and took hold of
hers, and they continued speaking as normally as before. She didn't
say anything about it and neither did he, but it told her everything
she needed to know. She wasn't just talking abour her plans for what
to do with a ship anymore. They were discussing their life together.

Almost exactly one year later, the *Devastator* had been docked
alongside a tower in Paris, France, R.O.M.A.N territory. The entire
zeppelin and tower were decorated in string lights and ribbons to
celebrate Jacob and Abigail's wedding, and now the party was being
moved to the flight deck of their ship. Jacob had invited only his
closest friends, due to the fact that Abigail's friends were her
parent's friends, and her parents had an insanely large pool of
friends. Jacob couldn't believe his eyes as he saw countless people
he had only ever known from history books.

General Edward Zerp and his wife Lei'en, along with their two teenage
sons.

Francisco
Chevrolet had come, and he was noticeably weirder in person than the
papers had ever made the debonair billionaire sound.

Ojinjintka, the legendary and now one-eyed mercenary. If even half of
what was written about her was true, Jacob couldn't believe she was
still alive.

Ji-Ren, one of the few survivors of the final mission to assassinate
Hadropsey.

Andrea
de Gallo, owner of the world's greatest bagel shop. Jacob didn't
recognize him from any history books, but rather from his massively
successful cooking show. Much later Jacob confessed to Abigail that
it seemed as if there wasn't *anyone*
his father and mother-in-law didn't know.

During a calm moment of the reception, Darwin and Louise approached
Jacob. Darwin put his hand on Jacob's shoulder and said to him “I
just wanted to let you know, I'm happy about all of this happening. I
love you like my own son.”

“I
love you *more* than my
own sons,” added Louise.

“You really shouldn't say things like that, love.”

“Why not? It's true! The older boy does nothing but read all day,
and Jacobim is barely out of diapers.”

“The child is just two years old, what did you expect?”

Abigail laughed at the memory, relishing the break from reality it
gave her. Reality came crashing back down as she looked down at Jacob
and he still wasn't stirring. Desperate, she began slapping him in
the face repeatedly, until finally he was awake.

“Your leg is broken,” she explained, after talking enough to be
confident he was coherent. “The tibia is split almost in half, and
part of it is sticking out the through the skin. I have no idea what
to do to fix it. Please help me.”

He glanced down at his own leg. “I see you've bandaged it as much
as you can. That's good. Was there anything in the wound?”

“No. There was, but between me and the rain we washed it out.”

He instructed her to briefly unwrap the bandage so he could get a
better look at it. “Alright,” he said as she rewrapped the leg,
“there's not a lot we can do here, not until we're in decent
medical facilities. But there is one more step. How squeamish are
you?”

“Not much, I don't think. Why?”

“The bone isn't far out of place, but it definitely can't be left
as it is. I'm going to need you to grab my ankle, and give a sudden
jerk as hard as you can. This will ideally straighten the leg and
bone, and then a quick splint will get it as back to shape as we can
hope for out here. Can you do that?”

“Pull on your leg so hard it resets the bone?”

“Yes. Be warned, I absolutely will scream in pain, but do not
stop.”

She sighed deeply, psyched herself up mentally, and grabbed onto his
ankle. “Ready?”

“As much as I'll ever be,” he said with a grimace spreading
across his face.

She pulled.

###

Axeon was furious with himself. He had been the last one to see Jacob
and Abigail. He had even seen them being lifted into the air by the
cyclone, but then had lost sight of them. If only he had been able to
keep his eye on which direction they were going, maybe he could have
known where to send a search party. But he had lost them. Not only
them, but Sigmund and Clarence had been separated from the team as
well when the storm hit. Now the rest of the people gathered –
Cheche, Gideon**,** and
the zoologists – were looking to him to decide what to do next. His
mind raced with the different problems facing them.

Jacob and Abigail, gone. Maybe dashed to pieces on the rocks.

Sigmund and Clarence, gone.
Maybe killed by the pirates.

The *Devastator,* already bombed, now likely torn to shreds
further by the storm.

Finally he spoke up. “Jacob and Abigail know where we were. If
they're dead there's nothing we can do, but if they're alive they'll
have the sense to come back here. So we depart, but leave behind an
indication of where we're headed. The rest of you go to the
*Devastator* and see what you can do to get her airborne again.
It doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to get us to a different
island where we can finish the repairs without getting murdered by
pirates.”

Cheche raised her hand. “Now
when you say the *rest* of us …?”

“I'm going to find Sigmund and Clarence. If I'm not back by time
the ship ready to fly, leave us. I cannot stress this enough. The
*moment* the ship can take off, go. Don't look back. The worst
case scenario here is a squad of pirates getting that ship.”

With that, he set off for the jungle. Everyone knew he had the best
tracking skills on the team. If anyone could follow a trail after a
destructive storm washed it clean, it would be him. The remainder
left behind a sign for Jacob and Abigail that they were returning to
the ship, and they set off for their new destination.

“Daima mbele,” Cheche whispered to herself as they left the cave.

###

Abigail was thankful for the workout training her mother had given
her. Darwin had often asked what a young lady would need to be able
to squat lift 200 pounds for, but here she was, 24 years old and
trying to carry her almost dead husband through a swampy jungle. As
bad as that was, once she reached the mountain and started ascending,
she began to miss the mud. The frequent breaks she made seemed more
like opportunities for her aching muscles to start seizing up. The
cold breeze cut through her soaking wet clothes and made her shiver
down to her bones. Jacob for his part tried walking repeatedly, but
each time it was apparent his injuries were much too extensive.

“You really think they're still there?” he asked during one of
the pauses.

“Where else would they be?”

“Who knows? But I know Axeon. If they left, there would be a sign.
It'd be a lot easier on you if you just left me here and ran to
check. If he's there, bring him down here and he can do the fetching.
If he's not there, I guarantee there will be a message.”

Abigail agreed and, being almost 200 pounds lighter, ran the rest of
the way with a speed Jacob hadn't seen in a long while. After a time
he saw her running back down.

“The *Devastator*!” she exclaimed. “Let's go! That's where
they are, and they'll be leaving at the earliest opportunity!”

“Can't blame them. At least it's all flat or downhill from here.”

“You're telling me,” she grunted, lifting him up and setting down
the trail.

###

Axeon made quick work of finding Sigmund and Clarence. That was the
easy part. The hard part was getting them away from the thirteen
marauders that still were hunting them down. Getting back to the
*Devastator* in time wouldn't be possible. But then he realized,
maybe that wouldn't be necessary. These pirates had to get here
somehow, didn't they? No regular sailing vessel could access these
islands, so that was out of the question. There was only one decent
place for an airship to land, and the *Devastator* was there.
That was out of the question.

“Subs,” he suddenly said aloud.

“Beg pardon?” hissed Sigmund, as quietly as he could under his
breath. They were hidden from view amidst the dense foliage, but
still surrounded by some heavily armed and angry men who were
searching intently for them. Conversations were not something he was
in the mood for at this present time.

“They must use a submarine, or several. We need to find a harbor.
We didn't see any from the air as we approached, it must be an
underwater cavern.”

“You really expect us to search this entire island for a hidden
cove while being shot at?”

“Nope. But I expect if we take a prisoner we'll be able to get the
info out of him.”

###

As the *Devastator* tumbled through the air, protesting with
every passing second, the crew was beginning to worry that they
wouldn't make it to the next habitable island.

“If only we'd had more time,” muttered Cheche. “I told you this
thing would require four or five days of repairs.”

“You did your best with what you had,” said Abigail, positively
exhausted from the journey. She and Jacob had made it back with
moments to spare. “If we crash, we crash. You all can swim, right?”

“I thought this thing had lifeboats for such an occasion,” said
Jacob, phasing in and out of consciousness.

“It did,” answered Cheche. “But they were obliterated in the
explosion. We're on our own if this beast goes down.”

“Whoever has the ability to move,” ordered Abigail, “please try
fabricating some decent flotation device. Enough for all of us, and
something that will be as sturdy as possible. The water is looking
incredibly rough. More so than usual.”

The ship shuddered with an alarming groan, and began losing altitude.

“Too late for that,” replied Cheche.

“Everybody hold on!” shouted Gideon from the cockpit. “Things
are about to get pretty rough! Find something nice and floaty!”

As everyone braced themselves and prepared for the worst, they heard
a yell coming from the cockpit. Strangely, it didn't sound like a
frightened yell. More a whoop of victory.

“Dare I ask what is going on?” yelled back Abigail.

“A flare!”

“A what?”

“A flare!”

“What does that mean?”

“The only person I know who has a flare gun at all times is Axeon!”

Abigail, despite the weariness, leapt up and ran to the cockpit.
“Where did it come from?”

“From right there,” Gideon responded, pointing to a distant spot
in the sea where a submarine was surfacing.

“Can you put us down in the water next to it?”

“Easy. It won't be pleasant, but we'll get there.”

The ship careened down and crashed into the water with more gusto
than its passengers would've liked, but safely nonetheless. They
hastily made their exit from the slowly sinking zeppelin and climbed
onto the sub, where Axeon waited to greet each and every one aboard.

Waiting behind on the *Devastator* was Cheche, who had gathered
up every pulley, winch, and tow line the ship had, and used them all
to lash the zeppelin to their newfound submarine. If the sub stayed
above water for the duration of the trip, perhaps they could simply
tow the *Devastator* to their next destination and get it a
proper repair. No sense wasting such a nice vessel.

###

“I'm beginning to understand why your father is relishing
retirement so much,” said Jacob as he hobbled around their bedroom.
His leg was firmly set in a cast, and he had been getting used to
walking again for the last week.

“Oh please,” retorted Abigail. “My father had to endure forty
years of hectic adventures with a madwoman. You've barely managed
two.”

“Ah, so you've finally given up and begun listing yourself in the
same category as your mother now, have you?”

She smiled broadly at him. “A leopard can't change its spots.”