Roaring, biting wind and piercing rain coming from below. Screams of terror mixed with those of joyous pleasure. Spinning. Whirling. Falling. They were falling. Seko couldn't place how they'd ended up in that state until he realized where he was. He stood with an iron grip to the rail and metal pipe. Aithur hung to wheel as the ship spun in a dizzying free-fall.

"VEL, NOW!" He screamed the command into the pipe and prayed that the woman could react.

The low drumming of the turbines filling with energy ran through the ship and into his very bones. The ship's spinning slowed, and their descent lost a majority of its speed, however it didn't lose all of it. They were still falling at an incredible rate, one that would turn the Pasongunan and all its passengers into flat bread.

"We need more Vel!"

The drumming turned to a raising pitch that shook away the very rain around the ship. The crew was forced to bear with the pain this time, as letting go of their holds would mean literal death. Their speed kept dropping but not fast enough to control the descent entirely. Seko braced as the world around him came rushing up to greet them.

The ship smacked into the water with a force that Seko would have thought impossible. They skipped twice, scraping against something far below, and teetered. Seko wasted no time in taking command, he forced Aithur aside and made sure he gripped the rail. He had to fight the spinning wheel before he could shout a command.

"Half Sail!" His voice drowned in the rain, but the nearest crew snapped to attention and rushed to work, others joining once they realized the situation.

The ship skipped one last time before the turbines popped a strange bubble of energy that dissipated like a cloud of smoke. The ship leveled out just above the water as the sails dropped into position. They filled instantly with bursts of sharp wind, edges fraying against the force as they lunged forward. Storm or not, Seko could use the wind and height to escape, and he intended to do just that.

"Are we level?" The metal reverberated, the pitch in Vels voice as her frantic question trickled through.

"Aye!" Seko Said "Just about. Hows the lower decks?"

"Steady, but shaken."

A high wave crashed against the lower frame and tipped the ship into a teetering. The wheel would do little to aid them in controlling against the wind, and Seko instantly found himself regretting the decision to take control. Still the space had an air of authority to it when a Captain took the Helm, and he was going to assure his crew of their safety.

Far distant shimmers of light cast beacons of hope on the horizon, and Seko made the order to turn towards it. The ship turned like a whale, the storm not lending any aid in the process, and ended up on a course out of the storm. Occasional crashes of the high reaching waves wobbled the ship and tossed the crew about, some nearly being flung from the rigging itself.

"Get all the newer crew inside!" Seko cried, directing Aithur in what to do. "This will take some work."

The Helmsman ran off to fetch the more green recruits that had thought to join and aid the ship. Seko had already seen a handful nearly flung from the rigging and deck, and he had no desire for further light lanterns to fly. Once they were secure below, Seko gripped the pipe and called to Vel.

"Drop the ship again."

The turbines popped again, and they fell a short distance into the chaotic ocean, waves cresting the deck and slamming into the masts. Seko held the wheel firm and tried to focus on the beams of light, his hope for salvation. Lightning crashed against the nearby waves and sprayed bursts outward on impact. Peaks of reefs loomed around them like spikes of doom, illuminated by the light of each strike for only a moment.

Seko wove the ship around the pillars of past wrecks and luckily found a deep enough space between two large islands. When they finally crested the last wave of the deadly bay Seko breathed a sigh of relief. The storm could still kill them, but at the very least they would survive the waters. The veteran crew ran back and forth carrying ropes or tying knots, climbing or latching. Each one moved with the urgency and confidence that could only be earned, never given. If they were lucky, and truly truly truly lucky at that, they could make it through the storm without a being struck or sunk in the process. I hope the crew holds-

"We stand," The words broke over the wind like iron being struck, Gialla had been a musician in the taverns and knew a few tricks to amplify her voice. "We stand, Alone against the Storm!"

Others of the decks crew turned to see what was causing the noise, to see the woman crazy enough to sing in the storm. Instead, the saw Gialla pulling tight her safety line and rushing up the rigging. A few of the others started mimicking her line and joined the song.

"We climb, We climb, Like deamons from below!" The volume rose as others pitched in, the chorus raising. Seko smiled and cried out to join them.

"We alone, Against the storm!" He cried, changing the rhythm

"We Alone, We Alone!" They cried in response

"We Alone, Who have no Home!" Seko shouted

"Damn the stone, Damn the stone!"

"We Alone call the Sea our own!"

"The Sea we Own, The Sea we Own!"

Shouts and whoops came from the crew as they moved from place to place, singing all the while as the rain stung against them. They filled their lungs with the courage of those brave sailors that had come before, and would surely follow after. These waves would not sink their ship, it would take the force of the very Creator himself.

When the rains eventually faded, it was almost unnoticed. The storm raged and took on more of a life as it traveled away, but the Pasongunan was no longer in its tendrils and suffocating grasp. Aithur had returned with some of the more experience recruits now that the winds and rains were easing. Seko returned the wheel to the man and took his normal position, each and every crew member resuming life as if nothing had happened. As if they hadn't just plummeted from the sky and nearly to their deaths.

"I'd appreciate," said Vel as she crested the quarterdecks stairs, "That we never do that again."

"Never fall from the sky?" Seko asked

"Indeed."

"I wish I could promise." He shrugged and smiled "We survived though."

"What of the Imperial Chaser?" She asked

"The Imperial? Surely anyone would have died from that little maneuver we just preformed."

Vel stood in silence as Aithur stifled a chuckle. She eyed the men with a dissatisfied expression and turned away.

"Creator help you Seko, You'll kill us all one of these days."

"I'm glad it worked, too." He said laughing, "Thank you, Vel."

She turned and nodded, locking eyes with Seko in the process "Lets not make falling a habit at the least, Aye?"

"Aye,"

"I'd very much like to request the same." Yan pushed his way past the woman and came up alongside Aithur "That was madness."

"Or pure genius." Eado said, having followed Yan up

"Either way, we're alive for another sun." Seko said "Thats a win to me."

"Aye," Eado folded his arms "That we did."

"It was just as likely to get us killed!" Yan cried "And you claim I'm the reckless one."

"That's because you are." Seko said "Usually."