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the air was practically something Stephen could reach out and touch.
    Stephen lifted his eyes to the ship’s helmswoman. She was older for her position with short, graying hair, still one of the best that had ever manned a ship’s wheel. His eyes locked onto hers then he started to shout orders. “Steady on the wheel. I don’t want them to see us coming.”
    She gave him a quick nod as he turned to the rest of his sailors. His words were crisp and his voice commanding. Stephen stood tall doing everything he could to inspire his crew as he bellowed orders like a seasoned captain. “Look alive. Cannon teams on the ready. Wait for my order. Rifles loaded and boarding teams in position. Let’s move people: it’s us or them!”
     
    ***
     
    Val cursed as she fought her way through the mass of live bodies. One would think this lot had never been attacked given the way they were running around. They were on a merchant ship. It had to have been hit before. She could see the Captain trying to restore order, but he was having little to no success. The crew was just too panicked. People were falling over the top of each other and the helmsman had worse problems to deal with. Without the steam from the boiler, the ship was falling. The whole thing was twisting and turning in a free fall as if the helmsman had no clue what he was supposed to do.
    What she really wanted to do was find Tobias and make sure he didn’t get himself killed. If he died, her answers died with him. Unless she could get the merchant ship under control, though, it would be pointless to try to find him. They’d all be dead. The ship could land without its engines, but the helmsman and the crew had to work together. Pirate cannons firing at them wasn’t helping the situation either.
    Val grabbed the first two crewmen she saw and barked in her best captain’s voice. “Grab some men and get those sails unfurled. If we can’t catch some wind to slow our descent, we’re dead.”
    They stared at her like she’d lost her mind. Val desperately wanted her whip in that moment. “Do you want to die?”
    They shook their heads no. “Then get yer arses in gear and get the square sails lowered so we can catch the downward wind. If we don’t slow down, this ship is going to crash. The pirates will be the least of our worries if we’re dead. NOW MOVE!”
    They ran. She grabbed four more of the crew and got them working on the top and mainsail of the vessel. The mainsail needed to come down to work with the square sails to slow them enough to regain control of the vessel—at least enough to allow them to land.
    The entire ship shook when a cannonball tore through the hold. Val went down cursing, but managed to catch hold of a rope. She fought her way up and held on while she maneuvered back down the stairs to where the merchant ship’s own cannons were. Women were crying and the men were struggling to figure out what to do.
    Val’s swearing became even more violent. It was apparent they’d never used the cannons before. “Quit yer blubberin' and get over here!” she shouted as she ran to the cannons. “We’re not goin’ down without a fight so pull yerselves together!” Val heard herself falling back into her old speech. She’d learned to talk like a sailor so she could get them to move faster. They responded better to that type of speech than anything else.
    The men shuffled forward, their faces streaked with soot and their eyes wide with fear. Val showed them how to load the cannons and then how to fire. She missed her mark by a good hundred yards. These cannons were not long range. She silently cursed the Captain for being so cheap.
    “They need to be closer to hit,” Val explained. “Load the cannons, and when you see them almost upon us, then fire fer all yer worth. Understand?”
    There were nods and the men began to work. Val turned her attention to the females still crying in the corner. “You lot, get yer arses here and help them with the