Wings of Fire Ch. 04

"We got ahold of the blueprints of the prison, guard shifts and rotations, everything. The Underground had helped us with much, but we needed their help in pulling it off. We were negotiating the terms of how much help we would need and who would be helping us, when Captain Greyheart interrupted, by walking in on the meeting."

"She told us that in no uncertain terms, that Crimson Sky would helping out. The last several jobs had been boring and because of the attempted mutiny, her and the men were spoiling for a damn good fight. The Underground was all for the collected might of the Crimson Sky mercenaries backing them. The captain made the concession that the Underground would get her help. In exchange for seventy-five percent of the armory and fifty percent of the vault money from the prison," Jr. stated.

"Though the asking was steep, the Underground agreed, since they were lacking the resources and manpower. Once they agreed, they went into planning everything, making sure that not a single detail was forgotten. Not long afterwards, we were ready to bust my mom out."

"The jailbreak started off a little rough, but we pulled it together and made it happen. There were a few minor hiccups, but we ironed those out quick. Because we had the element of surprise, we overtook the guards with little resistance and not only broke my mom out, but several blocks of inmates, most of whom were political prisoners."

"Once we got everyone out and robbed the prison blind, we hotfooted it back to the ship and hightailed it to the border. Because it was a mass breakout, it covered our tracks nicely and my parents could finally see each other after eight long years. We are finally a family again," Ernie finished.

"That's one hell of a story! Where did you guys break your mom out of?" James wondered.

"It was the South Carolina Penitentiary. An archaic and scary place. One I would not want to visit again," Ernie said with a shudder.

"Wait, that mass breakout in the papers? That was you guys?"

"We made the papers?" Ernie asked in shock, realizing that he may have said too much.

"Yeah! It was all over the radio waves and in the papers for the last couple of days! It was all anyone would talk about!" James replied. "I have to say, I'm glad you guys raided that place! Too many good people were sent there over the years, all because they dared to speak out against the government. I want to shake your hand for doing something good where everyone else was too afraid to act."

James stood and stuck out his hand, showing Ernie that he was being honest. Smirking, Ernie stood up as well and took the proffered hand and shook it. Both men exchanged a silent understanding because they were of like mind on many things. Just then, a buzzer sounded through the hangar, going off three times.

"What the hell was that?" James asked.

"That was the lunch buzzer, meaning it's time to get some chow. Since you're new, you'll come with me to get some food. Only a third of the crew sits in the mess hall during meals. C'mon, let's get going," Ernie explained, while gesturing for James to follow him.

Ernie led the way, taking James through the exit and up several flights of stairs. Turning down another corridor, they went past the officer's quarters and headed to the starboard side of the ship. They kept on walking and eventually came to a dining area where the smell of food wafted in the air. James' stomach growled as he had missed a few meals on his way to this airship.

Following Ernie's example, James picked up a tray and got in line behind him. The line was small, as they were among the first to arrive, which was evidenced by the amount of men in the room. The line behind them got longer, as more men arrived and James kept his gaze on the food to be had.

"Afternoon Flora! What's on the menu for today?" Ernie asked politely.

"Mushroom soup with some bacon and wild rice in it. There are fresh biscuits to help fill what the soup won't, but everyone gets only two," she told him genially.

"Only two? Sounds like we need to resupply when we touchdown next," Ernie responded with a slight grumble.

"I'm sure that the captain will ease these stresses once put in to wherever it is we are going," James chimed in. Ernie and Flora looked at him suspiciously before they heard a few male voices gripe from behind them.

"Get a move on, will ya?"

"Some of us are hungry, you know!"

Started out of their glaring, Ernie and James moved along, having taken a bowl of soup and two biscuits each. They both sat a nearby table while the rest of the off shift crew filed in, eager to get food in their bellies. They both had also picked up a glass each and poured out some water for themselves from the pitcher that sat on the table. Starting into the food, both men ate in silence, until Ernie broke the ice.

"What did you mean by how the captain would ease these problems when we put in?" Ernie asked shrewdly.

"Isn't that what a captain does? Look after his or her men and ensure that they are fed, watered and fucked?" James replied casually.

"There's something you're not saying. I've spent a lot of time aboard this ship and I can tell when someone's not being straight with me. Out with it!" Ernie demanded.

"Fine. You tell anyone about this, and not only will it be my head, but yours as well," James warned him.

"Well then, spit it out!"

"I have traded the captain several items of value, which will see the ship's larders stocked and your planes upgraded substantially. In return, I would stay aboard the ship, along with Laura and Ottilia, all of us as temporary members of the crew, until our port of calling," James told him quietly.

"Items of value? What kind of items of value?" Ernie wondered, his interest now piqued.

"Something that is universally accepted as currency. I'd rather not say too much, as I'm sure the captain would have my head if I do. That's all I can say on the matter, until she deigns to tell you," James replied, refusing to say any more.

"Fair enough. But something that's universally accepted as currency? The only things I can think of are..." Ernie said, as his head whirred with the possibilities of what it could be. His eyes widened then, looking at James with a sense of awe and wonder.

"You traded 'items of value', all for passage to where now? And for you, Laura and Ottilia?" Ernie wondered while munching on a biscuit.

"That and I get to keep my plane and the blueprints I took back. Plus, my weapons, two of which are likely getting cleaned and fixed right now," James said.

"Huh. I saw that sword in your duffle. That thing is really yours?" Ernie asked.

"Yes, it is. Passed to me from my father," James responded.

"Do you know how to use it?" Ernie asked.

"I have some idea, but I've had no formal training with a sword. Even though I could have taken fencing lessons, I thought it was a useless skill," James lamented.

"Well, you're in luck then. Right after lunch is weapons practice. You'll join me topside during these lessons, as every man and woman aboard must know how to fight," Ernie told him, before spooning the last of his soup into his mouth.

Nodding, James finished up his food, stuffing the last of one biscuit into his mouth while grabbing the other in hand. He downed it with a final gulp from his water and brought his tray with his dishes on it to a drop off point. One of the helpers was collecting them and James handed his tray right to her, so she didn't have to bother fetching it from the mess of other dishes.

She smiled at him before returning to her duties, and James quickly followed Ernie out, heading back down to the hangar. They took all of five minutes to get there, walking at a brisk pace while James finished his biscuit on the way. Once they had arrived, he saw Ernie head off to the office, and he picked up a couple of items from a small closet.

The items in question, was what appeared to be a basket-hilted sword and a 9mm pistol. Ernie checked both weapons before setting the sword belt around his waist and tucking the pistol into a hidden holster beneath his coveralls. James reached into his duffle and removed the sword, knife, and revolver. Ernie's eyes goggled at the revolver, and he eyed the steel appreciatively.

"Where in the name of God did you get such a beauty?" Ernie asked, staring at the gun, as James used the brushes he had to clean it.

"Believe it or not, I found this in that abandoned military base that the girls and I hunkered down in for half a day," James replied as he checked the steel over.

"Bullshit! That thing was just laying there??" Ernie blurted out incredulously.

"Nah. I got lucky when exploring an old storeroom that was under lock and key. Had to use a small sledge to break the lock on the door and the lockbox it was in," James replied, filling Ernie in.

"You will want to keep that thing safe! A lot of guys would kill to own that piece you got there, not to mention your sword!" Ernie said cautiously.

"When it comes to this thing, that's something I know how to do!" James said proudly.

"You can shoot?"

"I did take up a few things as hobbies when I lived with my mother and grandfather. The old goat was insistent that I learn both pistols and revolvers and I'm glad he was such a pain in the ass about it," James smirked, remembering fond memories of his grandfather.

"Well then, let's head on up and see what you got!" Ernie said, his voice all challenge. James smiled and tucked the revolver into his belt while he strapped the knife to his belt and took his Katana in hand. Though he didn't need Ernie to find the top deck, he followed him anyway, as a sign of being a good guest.

Once they broke through the door, James noted that the air was a bit thin this high up, but he could see the rolling hills of Illinois in the distance. He glanced around and saw that several of the men who were with them in the galley were just coming up, all of them armed similar to the way they were. Each one carried both a small sidearm and a sword or a close combat weapon. More than a couple of the men assembled favored Tomahawks, each one of these men carrying at least two.

Everyone was busy setting up the shooting range with painted metal targets. Many of these targets were dented and pockmarked with bullet impacts. Once the range was put into place, the bosun barked out the rules for shooting. James was familiar with range rules, but listened anyway. He was sure that shooting a few thousand feet in the air was far different from shooting on the ground.

Everyone spread out, taking a target to practice on before loading their weapons. James and Ernie picked a target next to one another, both of them loading their weapons. Ernie just had to load his clip and cock his pistol before he commenced firing. James had to slot each bullet individually before he could shoot.

He looked over and saw that Ernie's shots were hitting their mark, mostly. His aim seemed to be drifting left for a couple of shots before he corrected it. James finished loading, cocked his revolver, took aim, and fired. Even though the air was full of the sound of gunfire, the report of the 1917 Colt was distinctive. Several of the nearby mercs turned in James' direction, eyeing the steel in his grip.

James kept firing, using the remaining bullets in the cylinder. Each shot he fired was dead on accurate and this surprised him. He was sure he'd have to make adjustments to how he would normally shoot to fire the Colt correctly. In this instance, he needed to do no such thing, as it fired perfectly, each shot going where he wanted it to.

"Damn! You really do know how to shoot!" Ernie said, amazed by James' accuracy with his target. "But how are you with a moving target?"

James looked at Ernie quizzically before he produced an old tin can. Smiling, James knew what it was that Ernie was calling into question. James reloaded his weapon, then cocked it once more. Ernie jittered the can in question and James nodded, letting Ernie reach back, then hurl the can forwards into the air. James tracked the can and drew his gun, firing at the metal object as fast as he could.

Each time he fired, the resounding ricochet sound of the bullet hitting the can could be heard. James spent the whole cylinder before the can fell back to the deck, clanking nosily. Ernie looked for the bosun and saw that he'd stopped to watch James go to work with his revolver. The look on his face was one of approval, and he certainly seemed impressed. Ernie caught his attention, and he jerked his head down the range. Nodding, the bosun called out his command.

"Man going down range! Cease fire!"

The assembled crew lowered their weapons and stop firing immediately. Once it was clear, Ernie jogged down to where the can lay on the deck and scooped it up. He ran on back to the rest of the crew, looking over the can in stunned wonder. The moment he arrived, the nearby crew crowded around, eager to see what had young Ernie in such a shock.

Displaying for all to see, everyone there expressed similar disbelief and shock at what they saw. The can had a total of twelve holes in it, two of each hole lining up with the bullet that had passed through it. They all then turned around and stared at James while he was quietly reloading his steel.

"What? I told you I could shoot," he said as nonchalantly as he could.

"Maybe you could teach a few of the other greenhorns and seasoned folks here how to shoot as good?" the bosun asked, his harsh voice unusually soft.

"Aye, I will make whatever time that can be managed during my rounds. It all depends on how well things progress with the fleet," James replied.

"You're good at shooting, no quarrels about that. But you said you don't know how to swing a sword, right? Let's see about fixing that," Ernie replied, catching everyone's attention.

Ernie then gestured to James, indicating that he should follow him. Shrugging, James tucked his gun into his belt and took his Katana with him. Ernie led James over to where a small knot of men were sparring, taking careful strikes with their weapons, being careful not to injure one another. They were being overseen by someone who James did not expect.

The person in question was a woman who was barely five-foot-three. She had raven black hair, grey eyes and an athletic build. Her figure would have been lithe and typical of someone who was clearly of Chinese ancestry, but she wasn't. Her bust was easily a D-cup, maybe thirty-six inches around, and hips that appeared to be slightly smaller than that, maybe at thirty-four inches.

She wore traditional Kung-fu clothing, with a long sleeve jacket and pants that went down to her ankle. The shirt had a sort of loincloth that dangled in front and the back, making her appear more the part of a martial arts teacher. Her hair was done up in a bun with two chopsticks holding it in place. Another difference between her and the rest of the crew was that instead of good sturdy boots, she wore a pair of black slippers. A sheathed Tai Chi sword was tucked into the red sash that encircled her waist.

For someone of such a small stature, she looked voluptuous and would have been pretty, had it not been for the blank look she wore. She looked over at the men with mild disinterest, obviously not impressed with the way they were fighting. The members of the crew were attacking rather clumsily, going back and forth, taking heavy swings. She shook her head and stepped in, stopping the fight and exchanging curt words with the men.

"Who is that?" James wondered.

"Li-Fan Chang. Though the bosun runs the crew and is in charge of guns and the like, she is the First Officer aboard and the weapons master of hand to hand combat. Trust me when I say you do not want to cross her or get on her bad side," Ernie Jr. warned.

"Why is that? She doesn't look so tough," James responded with a scoff.

"She may not look like much, but she is wickedly fast. When we were porting in New York, a bunch of wealthy 'gentlemen' thought they'd try to talk to her while the crew was out on shore leave. She turned them down flat and walked out, not knowing they were planning on having their way with her. It wouldn't matter that she wouldn't participate willingly," Ernie stated.

"What happened?"

"They tried attacking her from behind, but she moved like she knew they were coming. Maybe she did, but either way, she beat and severely injured those guys and they were all as big as I was, or close to it. She was all over them like a whirlwind, hitting them hard and in many... sensitive spots," Ernie said with a wince. James made face also and let the man continue.

"Long story short, they were all bruised and bloodied, some of them with broken bones, but alive. She even made use of a chair they thought to smash her with, which was both funny and scary to watch. Let's just say our shore leave ended pretty quick, and we put some distance between us and New York," Ernie said, finishing up.

"Damn! You guys get into trouble wherever you go! Or does it tend to find you first?" James asked, chuckling.

"I'd say trouble has a pretty damn good idea of where we are most of the time. Anyway, let's get to training. Lose the jacket and your pistol. You won't need it here," Ernie told him.

"Can I trust that the guys and girls aboard won't try to take it?" James asked warily.

"After seeing that display of shooting, I doubt anyone will want to piss you off. If you can shoot that well, with a gun that has a lot of kickback, I'd like to see what you can do with a gun with little of that. Draw your sword and let's get to it," Ernie told him.

Satisfied at the explanation and smirking at the compliment, James did as he was asked and wrapped both his revolver and sheath in his jacket. Ernie had similarly doffed his coveralls, showing James just how solidly he was built. He was both taller and more heavily muscled than James was and moved like he knew what he was about. He'd already drawn his basket-hilted sword and held before him a ready position.

James, having read much about that samurai of old, knew a few things about how they fought. He placed himself in a proper ready position, or what he thought would serve, and waited. Ernie smirked and rushed him, striking his blade high, then hitting it low, knocking the blade away from the center of James' body. He then laid the tip at the hollow of James' throat before he could recover.

"You really know nothing about how to fight with a sword, do you?" Ernie asked as James brought his blade upright.

"Hardly. I know the first rule at least; which is that the pointy end goes into the other guy. I suppose I can also cut a guy, right?" he asked.

"Let me take you through a few things first. Let's start with your stance," Ernie instructed.

He took James through the motions of sword fighting, instructing him about the stances and ways to swing a blade. Ernie also took him through the basics of footwork, about how the ability to move or dance while in a fight was just as important as knowing how to swing your blade. It was the better part of an hour and they had sparred a little, James becoming markedly better after the instruction. Ernie was taking James through blocks and parries when a female voice interrupted their sparring session.

"What is going on here Mr. Black?" Li-Fan demanded as approached the men.

"I'm just tutoring our new recruit, seeing how well he learns and correcting him in his flaws, Sifu," Ernie said, bowing respectfully to the woman.

"Well, at least he's holding the sword correctly and his stance is somewhat decent, which is more than can be said for some of these louts," she said. "Your name boy, now."

"James Brighton... Sifu," he said, imitating Ernie's bow.

"You show respect. That is good, but let us see how well you handle yourself with that blade, boy. Fight me," she told him, her slightly accented voice issuing a challenge.