Wind blew the sails out and surged Patchwork Sally forward into the night. It was as if the world was sighing in sorrow at the completion of the Cormorant leader's tale. The crew were deathly quiet watching with reverence and awe.
The moon was a vast orb of light behind them and the stars were flickering. It had been hours since Dana had started her story and true to her word Sky had never interrupted. Not once. She hadn't been able to. The rebel woman had not been herself. She had spoken as though her mind was taken back to the time of such betrayal and agony.
Things fell together into painful clarity for Sky. The woman's calculating gaze always trying to predict others. Her hatred for the Davion name was not due to her brother, as Sky had originally suspected, but rather due to the creator of the task that had taken so much from her. After all, it was Christopher Davion who thought up the cannon in the first place. He had deliberately left out vital details to prevent the King from using it before the kingdom was ready. Gaps that had been filled by Dana and William.
"You want to know where I fit?" Dana's silver eyes hardened, her vulnerabilities seemed to have strengthened her. "I am not here for revenge Skyler. That is not what the Cormorants are about. It is our duty to stop what is to come. I must stop it because I am the one that caused it."
Sky nodded. It was cold now; the sun gone and taking it heat with it. Some of the rebels had retired to the deck below, many were still stationed at their places manning the sails. But there were some who had gathered around to listen to the reason behind the formation of their Rebellion. Dana had let them hear her story and so they had listened.
"I believe William was the first innocent to die in this. How I have wished over the year he was the only one." Dana stood suddenly. Sky looked up at her from the railing she sat on. The rebels parted around her and returned to their tasks. Dana took the wheel back and sighed.
Respect had rooted itself in Sky's chest. This woman was on a path to correct her wrongs. She could not blame her father, Christopher warned King Patrick, William's death was not because of her father. Still, Sky could not help but feel that she should take some weight of his death for her father. If he were here he would have said something to Dana. As it were, Sky could only look down at her hands in silence.
"I do not hold you father responsible Skyler." Dana said as though reading the young woman's thoughts. "I spent months studying his notes; he did not intend his creation for this."
"Then what could it be for?" Sky questioned softly.
Dana turned to look back at her. "I have asked myself the same thing for many years. And I have come to the conclusion that he may not have known himself. He was very young. His mind may not have been open to anything other than his original idea."
"Which was?" Sky stood too. She spared a glance up. They were closer to the Arrow now, and would soon begin to make their way into colder waters. In a few days the first of the peaks would come into view.
"In his notes, Davion spoke of wanting to prevent firing between the King's ships and any unfriendly looking foreigners." Dana frowned. "I remembered that he had said the gun would be perfect for 'exploration', you could discourage approach with a single shot at a safe distance. I'm inclined to agree with him, for who would engage in battle with a ship appearing to have that sort of power?"
For some ambiguous reason that made Sky laugh. "Us?"
Dana surprised her with a smile. "Yes. Us." Then she frowned as though something wasn't adding up. "I don't understand how he came to actually possess it. When Dustin had described to me your first encounter with the Jane Duchess I thought it was impossible. We had solved the hows of your father's research yes, but to actually make the abomination... I don't' understand how he could have done it."
"Why? Did it still need more testing before it was ready?" Sky tilted her head trying to understand.
"No, well yes. For it to be safe yes. But I am speaking of how one could follow the blueprints your father left." She gave Sky an apologetic look. "It took me weeks before I was able to decipher his mathematical equations and that was my specialty. Davion certainly had his own way of constructing ideas. I don't know where the King found and engineer able to make it."
Sky's stomach sank. It was slow at first, and she tried to push the notion away like an unwanted fly. But each time it came back to her and the more she thought on it the more it began to become obvious.
"Only Davion himself would be able to make it." Sky whispered. Dana gave her and odd look; she had not referred to her father in such as way before. "The King lost him after he married my mother. But he got him back. Only it was a different Davion."
Sky slid her eyes across to meet those of Dana as understanding overtook her face. "Of course."
All those times when he had made sling-shots out of netting on their long nights under the stars. He would always ask their father to tell him about the cannons and had taken an instant love to weapons and how they were made. Christopher Davion may have had his own unique way of planning, but what if one had grown up reading his maps and notes, if one had made things following only his instructions all their life? Yes. Sky knew exactly where King Patrick had found the man with the ability to create her father's gift. And with the need to impress the King, her brother would have jumped at the opportunity to prove himself.
"The King must have asked him after he betrayed Dustin on the slave ship." Sky realised. Dustin had had no knowledge of the cannon and she doubted James would have been able to keep his own excitement in to hide it from his fellow shipmate.
"It would not have surprised me if the King was testing their loyalty." Dana murmured sourly. "A test Dustin failed. I also suspect he lured Ashier in with his father's research, but wanted one final declaration of trust and absolute devotion."
"Tom." Sky remembered her brother face when he had told Dustin he didn't know what the King would do to the boy. Hatred so deep flared within Sky. How dare he use James like that? James. You stupid naïve boy.
"That would explain why we had no knowledge of it. Most of our solid information came from Dustin after he was trailed to be executed." Dana frowned as she turned the wheel to starboard. "He wouldn't have known anything about it. And everything we attained afterwards had an element of hearsay to it. The King must have hit a wall at the realisation no one could make it. Davion would have been a welcomed asset."
The timing was right. Sky didn't know how long it would have taken to make the great cannon but she suspected while Dustin was wreaking havoc for the King on the waters for the Cormorants James was working with teams of engineers on Karniva.
"How smart is your brother girl?" Dana's frown deepened.
"Not very, it would seem." Sky sighed in pity. How could he have let the King manipulate him so?
"Would he have known that the iron would heat with each shot?" Dana spoke sharply and quickly. "They would know the amount of powder no doubt, but would he be able to understand the danger in using that much propulsion? To make forward momentum the same amount of energy must be expelled yes? And that energy comes from force, we know this it is how the shot is fired, but it is also lost through heat."
Sky blinked her face blank. She could barely understand what the woman was saying, not when she spoke at a speed such as that. She also did not know where Dana's mind was leading. At her confused expression the woman nodded, as if Sky had just proved that both she and her brother were idiots. Annoyance coloured her cheeks bright red.
Dana pulled away from the wheel speaking rapidly to herself as she paced the poop deck on fast feet.
"Did we include that? No surly not. Bill only spoke of it. It was an offhand comment. They wouldn't know. And the only time they fired was on Dustin. Yes. And they didn't have enough time to try again. They couldn't know."
"Dana?" Sky lifted a brow at the woman. She looked like she had having some sort of breakdown. Her hands where tense and one had made its way into her hair and was pulling almost painfully. Dana stopped and looked at Sky with blazing eyes. She seemed to realise her hand in her hair and a hollow sadness overtook her eyes and she gently combed her fingers through her greying hair.
"I think I know a weak point that they may not." She declared then ordered one of her men to bring her a table, paper and pens.
Over the next hour Sky watched in amazement as Dana worked. It was like seeing some incredible network grinding to life, each part leading into the next. Numbers lined the page, as they moved down the answers from the past equation were substituted into the next. There were times when Dana would grumble in frustration and scratch out multiple lines of what looked like gibberish to Sky.
When Dana finally finished she handed the notes, of which there were several pages, to some of the men standing around the table watching her. They began to look over them together with profound concentration, sometimes pointing and mumbling only to nod after a moment.
"I have not done that in a long time." Sky jumped and turned back to Dana who was watching the men check her workings. The lightness of her tone had surprised Sky and when she looked at her she could almost see excitement in her eyes. "I could never concentrate enough; it always reminded me of him."
Sky looked down then back at the men who were on the last page of notes. She didn't know what to say to the woman. She had held her tongue from thanking her as she suspected Dana may not appreciate the statement. So she said nothing and waited.
"They all look to be correct Ma'am." One of the men said glancing back to the bottom of the page.
"Good. Then wake the men for rotations. We will need all able hands to catch this wind. This information must get to Dustin before he makes any brash decisions." Dana took back the notes as some of the men moved to rouse the sleeping rebels. "Rest now of you need girl, we have a few busy days of sailing a head of us."
"What about you?" Sky retorted. She had not seen the woman go down to the berth deck once.
"There will be time for me to rest later. For now, sleep would only bring me nightmares." Dana's face softened and Sky had a feeling she knew what the woman was thinking about.
"I know my words may mean nothing," Sky hesitated; the woman did not like her as she may be offended. But Sky felt like it had to be said. "I am sorry for your loss. And I'm thankful for everything you've done since."
Dana watched her with clouded eyes as Sky turned to leave. A gentle sweet laugh stopped her. Dana was smiling at her.
"You are so much like him." Dana shook her head softly no longer looking sad. "No wonder he loves you."
"Ma'am?" Sky asked confused.
"Dustin said the very same thing when I told him about William's death. He knew nothing of the nature of our work, my own shame distorting the story, but he felt my pain regardless." Sky blinked dumbfounded. "Hearts of gold." When Sky said nothing in response Dana turned back to the wheel with a smirk. "With zero regard for authority."
Sky grinned at that and wished the Cormorant goodnight. Soon, if the wind carried them all the way, she would see him. Part of her was dreading it; what could she possibly say to him. The other part however was excited. Dana was right; they were suited for each other.
Edward had attached two hooks into the internal support beams of the frigates hull next to where his hammock hung. The Cormorant was there, swinging softly and breathing even softer still. Sky smiled, he looked rather sweet when he was sleeping. The two hammocks to near his feet were also occupied with people Sky recognised. Timothy and Sav had retired long before Sky, who had been caught up in Dana's story and then she had stayed out of pure curiosity as the woman worked. She wouldn't have been able to sleep without knowing what had caused Dana to spend an hour on mathematic equations. Now looking at the three sleeping men, exhaustion smacked into her like a brick wall.
Walking over to the hooks in the wall Sky felt her chest clench with appreciation. Edward had securely attached her hammock to them so that the opening was facing the wood of the hull. If the ship tipped she would be either pressed against the wall or held safely in the hammock.
"Thank you Ed." Sky whispered to him as she opened the hammock and climbed in curling the material around her body. The wood was hard against her side but she was too tired to care. Sky fell asleep listening to the waves slosh up against the ship, only a layer of wood separating her from the cold ocean. Sky smiled thinking of home.
***
When Sky woke late the next morning most of the berth deck was clear. Only the men who had worked all night were present snoring in deep sleep. She had not woken once and reminded herself to thank Edward for his work. Sky unravelled herself from the hammock and moved over to one of the barrels of water. With the sleeping area mostly clear and its inhabitants all fast asleep, Sky took the opportunity to clean herself. Her skin was growing uncomfortable from old sweat and sea salt.
Feeling refreshed and smelling a great deal better, Sky emerged on to the deck to find the rebel crew bustling with work. Sky saw Timothy pulling on the ropes of the maintop sail. She moved to help him, the skills she learnt on the navy brig coming as second nature now after so much time on ships. The rigging work was good for her, it strained her muscled and pasted the hours in what felt like minutes. She worked alongside Timothy into the afternoon angling the sails tying and retying knots at the railing with nimble fingers.
Dana was not on the poop deck and Sky suspected that the woman had finally given in to her body's need for sleep. Sav was there though and he was looking at the maps of the peaks with a few other men. Despite claiming to hate the task Sav had given him Edward was working diligently on Patchwork Sally's rails. He had an old rag and polishing oil and was going over the spots of sanded wood. When his eyes met Sky he grinned and the both shrugged to each other as if to say 'what else are we going to do?'
The following days passed in much the same way. There was a sense of anticipation amongst the crew that had begun to build. The wind hadn't slowed since and Dana had expressed concern that if the met the peaks at this speed the ship would be ripped apart. She ordered the men to ease on the sails. Sky, who had chosen to spend her afternoon helping Edward finish the last of the railings around the poop deck, was idly listening to the leaders talk about their plan of action.
"We will head for the western island as Dustin planed." Sav held the map out for the others to see. "We should be able to get through most of the peaks relatively easily."
The weather was clear and the seasons being in the warmer months it was likely that there would be less of the notorious fog. However, as one of the men pointed out, they were in the colder waters now, and would be approaching just as the sun began to set.
"Perhaps we should wait it out in the deeper water Dana," One of the crew said apprehensively, "Even for an expert, navigating at night is near impossible. And well," the man looked uncomfortable, "Forgive me Ma'am but I don't think you possess those expertise."
Dana, a humble woman, did not appear offended at the comment to her steering capabilities. She nodded at the fact.
"Be we cannot wait another day." The woman was focused on the horizon as though it were all that mattered. "We have to reach the others, They would be expecting us to already be there and with the information we have, it is vital we have time to formulate a plan." Dana's words earnt a few nods. "No, we keep going and hope our maps are accurate enough."
Some men moved away to inform the crew that they would be sailing into the night and to prepare themselves for any damage.
"It will be difficult so see any rocks under the water." Sav mumbled inspecting the map. "We could be torn open from below."
Sky imagined Patchwork Sally being gutted like a fish. It did not inspire her. Admiral Balthid would have had to of taken The Maribelle far west wide of the peaks to ensure his ship wasn't snagged. According to the maps they were less frequent in that direction. The Cormorants did not have that privilege; time was against them. They would have to weave through the peaks and come to the west island from the north.
"Your work had better hold Sav." Dana was looking at the foremast with concern. Sav's slouched eyes shared her worry. The weapon master was not so sure. Even the carpenter was beginning to appear less confident than before.
"She'll hold." Sky said with determination as he ran her fingertips along the beautifully smooth railing. "We'll just have to take our care with it, won't we Sally?"
"Great," Edward gave his friend a look of mocking fear, "We have lost her to the sea madness. She thinks the ship's live. It's only a matter of time before it claims us all. I knew you shouldn't have named it Sky. It was the first step."
Sky gave him a flat aggravated look before realising that she was stroking the rail the way one would a pet. Edward laughed and Sky crossed her arms.
"Stop it Ed." Dana castigated him. "This is not the time." Dana turned to Sky. "You've spent a long time on ships, how are you at navigating?" Sky was about to tell her that navigating was a skill that she was very good at when she realised the woman as asking her to steer.
"I don't think that would be a very good idea Ma'am." Sky said remembering the time Dustin had let her control The Belladonna. Damn Dolphins.
"Very well," She appeared somewhat hesitant. "Is there any other person who would accept the responsibility?" Sky knew she wasn't asking as a way to avoid the challenge; Dana was resourceful and she knew her own skill set. Unfortunately, many of the Cormorants had spent much of their life on the Mainland and very few were able to sail a full frigate.
When no one came forward Dana gave the all a curt nod. "It falls on me then." Sky did not envy her. "I want people stationed around the railing to watch for any underwater peaks that are too close. We will have to work together to get through this alive."
No one spoke in the time that followed. The sun had begun its decent and was slowing drawing its much needed light from the waters. The rebels were readying themselves to head into the deathtrap. When the call came from the crows net above it was like the crew took a collectivie breath.
"Land ho!"