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.”