Over the Great Sea

"It's a long way down," John said.

Erwin agreed. The water was crisp and blue, flawless from over two thousand feet above. No-one in the dirigible Penitence was particularly interested in taking a dive, though.

Karl wandered over, and pointed at a red flag waving in the distance. "So that's it, right?"

"Yep," Erwin confirmed. "Our target, in old New Orleans. We're going in, looting the place, and then bugging out again before anyone notices."

"I'd think that someone else would have noticed by now," John suggested as the Penitence approached the red flag. "I mean, the scouting team wasn't exactly subtle in marking it, now were they?"

"They don't come here for good reason," Erwin answered. "But unlike most people, we have a reason, and a damn big lot of guns."

The dirigible settled lower as it approached the red flag. John, Karl and Erwin re-entered the Penitence to help with preparations. It was filled mainly with helium, for lift; but a great deal of space was left for heavy lifting equipment, crew space, cargo and weapons. The submersible had already been detached by the time of their arrival, and barrels were floating to the surface as its crew looted the warehouse. John and Karl went off to operate the cranes, and Erwin considered. Prompted by the conversation outside, he climbed up the ladders leading to the upper conning tower.

Casey, the observations officer, sat surrounded by a mixture of optical and radar-based equipment. At Erwin's approach, he looked up. "I was just about to call for you," he said. "I'm getting nothing on radar, but over there," pointing to the horizon, "I've been seeing some rather suspicious things. They're either fast-moving birds, or radar-stealthed warplanes. I don't have anything solid enough to sound the all-hands, but..."

"Doesn't matter," Erwin said, hitting the switch. Sirens blared into life all around the Penitent. "Too many pirates around here. Even if you're wrong, it's better to take the chance. Good man. Keep me informed." Patting Casey on the back, he began to climb quickly but cautiously down.

Halfway back to the flight deck, where the rest of the pilots were hurrying to ready their craft and themselves, Casey's voice crackled over the PA. "Eight confirmed craft five miles out, coming in at a three-minute ETA. Radar-stealthed and presumed hostile."

Erwin slid the rest of the way down.

Palms burning, he geared himself up quickly. His gunner, Vargas, had already readied their autogyro. Erwin called out to the pilots, "Punch out, protect the Penitent!" and climbed into the autogyro. It slid forward in its tracks as the engine spun to life; then it plunged through the open cargo doors. Its wheels sprayed water as the autogyro struggled for altitude, before Erwin calmly pulled it up in a smooth parabola. Behind him, the Penitent's other two combat autogyros followed.

Erwin held the autogyro steady at a crawling fifty mph, letting Vargas aim and sight. "They'll focus on us first - try to save the Penitent for looting," he told himself as he waited nervously. "Gotta hit them now..."

"Firing!" shouted Vargas. The autogyro's Vulcan cannon spat out two hundred bullets in two seconds, knocking it backwards and downwards; Erwin gunned the engine to regain altitude. In the distance, a bright flare marked the destruction of one of the enemy craft; then another. "Bullseye!" he cheered.

They were not to remain unopposed for long. Bullets showered through the air. It was all Erwin could do to keep the autogyro up and dodging, jinking through the air. "Hope they can't afford missiles..." he mumbled through his teeth as another burst of enemy fire came all too close to his aircraft. Erwin was still firing, though Vargas hardly knew how he could aim while Vargas was moving at a hundred mph in all directions.

Then the fight was over. The enemy autogyros, never more than black specks to the naked eye, dwindled into the distance, refusing to fire further. Erwin piloted his autogyro back to the Penitence. The other two got back before him; one of them smoked unpleasantly, hit an awful blow by enemy autoguns. Erwin climbed out of his craft and, aware of the crew's attention, spoke.

"We won this one. No-one's dead, and we only have two injuries, thankfully. The pirates had worse guns and less resolve; thankfully, they didn't fire on the Penitence on the way out. And we got what we came for: five hundred barrels of petroleum, still fresh from before the Rising. That's enough to fuel us for a month, and earn us a nice profit besides."

Erwin sighed, relaxing his shoulders. "Now, let's go home!"

The crew cheered, and minutes later, the Penitence turned in a great awkward circle, flying away from the featureless watery expanse that had been New Orleans.