Kaelis launched out of her quarters, the ancient journal clutched firmly under her arm. Despite the fact that the morning sun hadn’t fully appeared over the horizon, she found herself more awake than ever, filled to the brim with restless energy.

  “Oh good, you’re all up,” she declared as she marched into the galley. Already seated at the table was the team, fully dressed, their faces wilted by a restless night. Sheah languidly occupied herself by cataloging the various relics littering the tabletop, while Dez and Jira sat in unsettled silence, sipping their morning beverages. Jira seemed especially sullen as she stared into her coffee, clearly adrift in a sea of thoughts.

  The team all sluggishly shifted their attention to Kaelis as she emphatically placed the journal on the table. “So, I gave it all a once over,” she excitedly announced. “Everything is in here! Maps, diagrams, key landmarks. I was right—this journal plots a course straight through the Forever Storm, and then some!”

  “Good morning to you as well,” mumbled Sheah. “I see you were also unable to sleep.”

  “Yeah, no time for that. Now, I know what you’re thinking: ‘Kaelis, everyone knows that Ama-Lasria is sealed off by the Salvation Gate—you know, that stories-tall wall the God King built? How’re we supposed to get past that?’ But that’s the thing, there’s a fix. You see, when—oh, and this is, like, history changing stuff, by the way. So, when—”

  “Must we do this right now?…”

  “What, you got somethin’ better going on?”

  “Please, just give me a moment,” Sheah urged, recoiling from the sudden influx of liveliness. She took a pause to collect her thoughts. “Firstly, this storm—” she began.

  “The Forever Storm,” Kaelis interjected.

  “Yes—Nobody has ever surmounted it before?”

  Kaelis smiled widely. “Captain Sirroza almost did.”

  “Oh? Really?”

  Jira sighed. “No.”

  “I see,” said Sheah. “How many ships have tried? Dez, do you know?”

  Dez ponderously rubbed his mustache. “Dunno. Dozens? Every few years someone’s crazy enough to go fer it, and every time they been swallowed up by the blizzard an’ disappear.”

  “Until us, that is!” Kaelis proclaimed. The crew sat still and silently stared at her. She blinked right back at them. “…Right? We are going to Ama-Lasria, aren’t we? I mean, how could we not?”

  “I admire your enthusiasm,” said Sheah. “But we should not be so hasty.”

  Kaelis could hardly believe her ears. “Oh, come on. This is a once in a lifetime discovery. We need to act!”

  “It’s a bit too early in the mornin’ to be talkin’ ‘bout this sorta thing,” Dez said, waving his hand dismissively. “Besides, I were thinkin’—bein’ the first to Ama-Lasria, probably more trouble than it’s worth.”

  Kaelis stared at him in utter disbelief. “Wha—?”

  “Yes…” Sheah nodded. “It does seem like an awful risk…”

  “You guys can’t be serious,” said Kaelis, appalled at her teammates’ lax attitudes in the face of fame and glory. “This is way bigger than just any expedition. Didn’t you hear what I said last night? Our names in the history books! Guys. History. Us!”

  “Look, I just think we’re gettin’ a bit ahead of ourselves here,” said Dez. He gestured to the ship around him. “The Red’s fulla holes, and we’re still haulin’ ‘round hot items. We need to hand off this stuff to Sheah’s broker friend before we start talkin’ about takin’ trips to who-knows-where. Ain’t that right, Jira?”

  Jira stared down into her coffee. “Hm,” she noncommittally offered.

  “I don’t believe this,” Kaelis groaned.

  “Dez is correct,” said Sheah. “We should resolve our current situation promptly. I do not wish for the Union to be alerted to our collusion.”

  “Your collusion,” said Kaelis.

  “Yes, yes.”

  Kaelis exhaled a hearty sigh. She threw herself into a chair. “Fine, whatever…” she pouted, folding her arms in reluctant agreement. “But when this broker thing is done we’re going for it, alright?”

  “We shall discuss it,” said Sheah.

  Kaelis plopped her head onto her arms and frowned.

  “Aw, don’t you fret none,” said Dez. “Regardless what happens, at least you found that there journal, yeah? You might still get credit for that.”

  “How?” Kaelis moaned. “If I say where I got it, then everyone’ll figure out we undercut those two rich guys.”

  Dez shrugged, forcing a smile. “Hey, maybe nobody’ll make the connection.”

  Knock knock—A heavy fist pounded against the portside door.

  “What the hell?” Kaelis blurted, sitting upright in her seat.

  “Who the—At this hour?” said Dez.

  Sheah hurriedly picked her two large satchels off the floor. “Quickly—hide the loot!” she urged. The team sprang to their feet and scrambled to pack the slew of relics back into the bags. Kaelis hastily stuffed the journal into the pocket of her dress.

  Another round of knocking battered the door, amplified with added impatience. The crew shot glances at each other until gradually all eyes landed on Dez. He pointed to himself quizzically. The rest of the team nodded. Excusing himself with a shrug, Dez moved to answer the door. The three women watched on from the table, staying just outside the line of sight.

  Dez creaked open the galley’s portside door. From her seat, Kaelis could just barely make out the edge of a tall, slender man garbed in a finely embroidered suit. He had a gleaming badge pinned to his chest and a set of matching cufflinks, all prominently displaying the V-shaped logo of Verloren Industries.

  “Mornin’, friend,” Dez cheerfully greeted. “Somethin’ I can yelp ya with?”

  “Good morning, sir,” the suited man blankly stated. “I apologize for the inconvenience. I’m here as an official envoy for Verloren Industries.”

  “Oh?” asked Dez.

  “According to customs your ship arrived in port this past evening. Is that correct?”

  “Yeah, that’s right.”

  “Very good,” said the suit. “Then I’ll need to conduct a search of your vessel.”

  Kaelis and Sheah exchanged alarmed looks. Keeping deathly quiet, they leaned in, actively listening to every word.

  “‘S—scuse me?” Dez sputtered, thrown for a loop. “Search the ship? The whole ship?”

  “That’s correct, sir.”

  Dez scratched the back of his head. “Well, I hate to be a thorn in yer side, but I think I’m gonna have to protest ya there.”

  “I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.”

  “Well, hold on now,” Dez asserted. “I respect you Verloren fellas, but you don’t got the right to be bargin’ into peoples’ ships whenever ya feel. The Union’s got strict rules against this sorta thing, and I’d hate to—”

  “We have approval from your Union.” The man’s skeletal hands dredged a document from his jacket and handed it over to Dez.

  “What in the blazes…?” Dez muttered to himself, scanning the warrant. He furrowed his brow, growing confused and somewhat distressed as he read.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Kaelis exchanged worried glances with her two seated companions, all of them clearly having the same troubling thought. The only way the corporations would ever be allowed to set foot on an Expeditionary vessel was by an official decree from the President of the Union himself. And judging from Dez’s afflicted expression, that was exactly what he held in his hands. But this kind of thing was unprecedented. What the hell was going on?

  “Do you think this is about the loot?” Kaelis whispered to Sheah.

  “I don’t know,” she whispered back.

  “But how could they have found us?”

  “I said I don’t know!”

  Jira flared her nostrils and tensed her neck. Silently rising from the table, she grabbed the two satchels of plunder and handed one each to Kaelis and Sheah. “Wait for my signal,” she whispered. “Get the loot to the broker. Stay out of sight.”

  “Right now?” asked Kaelis.

  Sheah promptly slung the bag over her shoulder and eyed Kaelis to do the same. “Roger that, Captain,” she acknowledged.

  Jira marched over to the door as Dez handed the warrant back to the man. “Good morning!” she buzzed, acting uncharacteristically bubbly. “Is there a problem?”

  The Verloren suit’s stoic demeanor immediately softened. “Wait… You’re Jira the Knife!” he exclaimed, his voice lighting up with starstruck surprise.

  “That’s right,” Jira chirped.

  “I heard you had died. Well, this is certainly unexpected.”

  Jira tossed out a phony laugh. “I’ll say!”

  The suit put his hands on his hips. “My buddy is not going to believe this. …Say, you wouldn’t mind signing something for me, would you?”

  “Not at all!” Jira spuriously beamed. Reaching into his suit coat, the Verloren man pulled out a fine pen and handed it over to Jira. She slyly let it slip through her fingers. “Ah, so sorry,” she apologized as the pen clattered against the floorboards.

  “Oh, here, let me get that for you.” The suit bent down to pick up the pen. As he did, Jira raised two fingers behind her back and gestured them towards the deck hatch.

  Kaelis and Sheah traded an affirmative nod—that was definitely the signal. Moving quickly, they skulked across the room and up the stairs, silently exiting to the main deck just before the man stood up once more.

  Kaelis stealthily shut the hatch behind them, careful not to jostle the axe from the pirate attack still stuck in the wood. Together she and Sheah slunk over to the bow of the ship, which sat perpendicular to the dock’s main platform.

  “Okay, it’s only like ten feet to the platform,” Kaelis whispered, crouching low. “I think we can jump.”

  “Jump? Surely not.”

  “It’s the quickest way outta here. C’mon, it’ll be fine.”

  The two women reached the bow. As Kaelis moved to stand, she quickly felt Sheah’s hand tugging on her sleeve, forcing her back down.

  “Wait,” Sheah whispered. Moving slowly, she took the lead, peeking her head over the railing, scouting out the dockyards below. Her brows instantly jolted with alarm.

  “What? What do you see?” Kaelis crept in, taking a peek for herself. “Oh, whoa…” she uttered.

  Swarming the platform were dozens of Verloren suits, a few of them sternly conferring with dock officials while the rest travelled down the row of Expeditioner landships. Going door to door and presenting their warrants, they strongarmed their way into the ships, resulting in loud protests from the crews inside. Watching over the proceedings was a handful of lowly corporate guards, armed with their company-issued shortswords, mingling in a pack near to the terminal. A surly-looking lieutenant paced around her drowsy underlings, ready for action, her hand resting on the officer’s pistol holstered on her hip.

  The two women dropped back into cover, shaken by the scene. “I don’t understand,” said Sheah, placing an anxious hand on her cheek. “What is happening here?”

  Kaelis furrowed her brow. “I’ve never seen any of the companies pull something like this before. What’re they looking for? And why the guards?”

  “…Oh dear,” whispered Sheah. “What if this is indeed about the loot?” She frowned, her eyes flurrying with worry. “That capital ship we passed was heading in the direction of Dremaseah. Perhaps the two men we undercut were not from just any other crew…”

  “Oh. Uhh, I guess that could be…” said Kealis, grimacing at the thought. “But there wasn’t a claim on that site, and it’s not like we stole anything from anyone. This is still all a bit extreme, don’t ya think?”

  “Yes, it is rather vexing.”

  “…You’re not hiding anything else, are you?” said Kaelis, eying her companion suspiciously.

  Sheah scoffed at the accusation. “No, of course not!”

  Just then, a soft rasp rattled on the deck hatch, jostling the two women. “So sorry, I always forget which key it is…” came Dez’s muffled voice from the other side of the floorboards.

  “Aw, ass,” cursed Kaelis. “C’mon.” She quickly made her way towards the Redland Runner’s starboard beam, treading lightly on the wood of the deck, keeping sure not to squeak the floorboards. Sheah followed closely behind.

  Kaelis came to the railing and looked down over the edge. Thanks to the pirate attack, the entire right side of the ship was now pocketed with dents and scratches—including the starboard-side ladder, which ran down the length of the hull to the dark tarmac below. Thankfully, although many of the ladder’s rungs had been warped and skewed by the damage, it still looked mostly safe to use.

  Kaelis threw her legs over the rail. “This way,” she said as she proceeded to mount her foot on the topmost rung.

  “Down the ladder?” gasped Sheah.

  “Uh, yeah. That’s what it’s here for.” Kaelis lowered herself down. “What’s the issue? This should be even easier for you; you’re a lot taller than I am.”

  “I simply, um…” Sheah peered over the edge, overcome by the view below. “…Well, I haven’t actually… used the ladders before.”

  “Uh, okay…” muttered Kaelis, slightly baffled. Though, now that Sheah had mentioned it, Kaelis had only ever seen her exit the ship through the cargo bay, never with either of the side ladders. “Well, I guess now’s the time to start,” she said. Carefully, she placed her foot onto a half-holding rung and began her descent to the ground.

  The lock of the hatch began to click. “Ah, here we go!” exclaimed Dez from through the floor.

  Sheah jolted with a start. She quickly clambered over the railing and swung herself onto the holds, ducking her head over the edge of the ship mere seconds before the hatch door slammed open and the Verloren suit emerged onto the deck.

  Kaelis and Sheah slowed to a crawl and muffled their breathing, careful not to make even the slightest sound. They moved as carefully and quietly as humanly possible, climbing down one limb at a time, all the while listening in on the conversation unfolding above them.

  “Sorry for the state of the ship,” Dez apologized. “Ran into some pirates yesterday, as you can see.”

  “Hm. That so?” mumbled the suit.

  “Yeah, nasty bunch. Anyhow—Up top ya got the bridge, and below it’s the captain’s quarters. Feel free to poke about, I guess.”

  “Hmm,” grumbled Jira uncomfortably.

  The Verloren suit paced around the deck slowly, his fine shoes clicking against the wood. “Stange model of ship you have,” he quizzically stated.

  “Ah, you noticed,” said Dez with an air of pride. “Ziedler Motors, Zuferra model. Not many were made. Helluva ship, though. Naught to forty in—”

  “Uh huh, that’s good. A vessel of this class requires a crew of at least four to properly man. Where’s the rest of your team?”

  “Out,” Jira quickly answered.

  “Young people things,” added Dez.

  The suit huffed. “Hm. I see.” The three figures on the deck shuffled off towards the ship’s stern, their footsteps growing softer as they departed.

  Kaelis crept to the bottom of the ladder. She gingerly touched her toes onto the tarmac below and looked up to check on her companion. Sheah was well past the halfway point, clutching the holds and desperately looking in any and every direction except down. It was suddenly very clear why Sheah never used the ladders.

  Kaelis waved to get her comrade’s attention. Haltingly, Sheah twisted her head around and peered down at her teammate, her eyes spinning with fear. Kaelis waved again, smiling encouragingly. “You’re doing great,” she mouthed.

  Sheah clenched her eyes and took a deep breath, steadying her trembling legs. She delicately lowered herself towards the next foothold, less than a dozen more feet to go. She placed her weight on a bent rung, moving to the next step.

  Snap!—The rung suddenly cracked off the ladder and tumbled towards the ground. Sheah slipped. Muffling a scream, she clawed at the holds and quickly regained her footing. The broken rung collided with the pavement, letting out a sharp, metallic tang.

  “Did you hear that?” asked the suit from above.

  “Uh, I didn’t hear anything,” replied Dez.

  The sounds of footsteps clicked briskly across the deck, heading straight for the starboard railing. “Stay there,” the man ordered.

  Kaelis danced in a panic around the fallen piece of metal. “Jump!” she quietly called to Sheah.

  “It’s too far!” Sheah whispered back, clinging to the ladder.

  Kaelis lifted her arms, acutely aware of the approaching footsteps. “I got you!”

  Sheah clenched her eyes shut and let the ladder fall from her hands, trusting gravity to carry her to her comrade. She dropped the remaining few feet, straight into Kaelis’s arms.

  “Oof—” the two women wheezed as they softly collided and crumpled onto the ground. With no time to feel their pain, Kaelis heaved Sheah off of her, and together the pair scrambled over and dove full-speed under the chassis of the ship.

  Laying in the Redland Runner’s shadow, the two women stifled their breath, fearfully listening as the Verloren suit above stepped to the railing and stopped. Even without seeing him, they could feel his cold, studious glare as it diligently scanned the darkened tarmac. They tuned their ears, barely able to make out the man grumbling through the early morning silence.

  “What is it?!” called Dez from across the deck, following the man’s directive to stay put.

  Several anxious seconds passed as the man silently studied the side of the ship. “You were right,” he finally replied. “Looks like those pirates really did a number on you.”

  Kaelis and Sheah exchanged a glance through the dark and sighed out their captive breath.

  “Ha, that they did,” Jira nervously laughed. She and Dez walked across the deck, rejoining the Verloren suit.

  “We almost done here?” asked Dez.

  “Mhm,” answered the suit. “Everything seems in order. I’ll just need to inspect your cargo bay, then I think I’ll have seen everything I need to see.”

  “Great,” said Dez, slapping his hands together. “Listen, I hate to be rude, but are you ever gonna tell us what this is all about?”

  The suit walked away, his voice turning serious as it trailed off with him. “There’s been an incident…” Dez and Jira followed behind him, and soon the deck was wrapped in stillness once more.

  “…An incident?” asked Kaelis after some seconds of cautious silence. “What’d he mean by that?”

  Sheah shimmied out from beneath the ship. “There is no time to speculate. Come, let us move.” Hoisting herself to her feet, she waited for Kaelis to join her before springing off towards the edge of the dockyards. “This way,” said Sheah with a wave. The pair raced through the morning haze, dodging past a large landship rumbling across the tarmac, and disappeared into the city.