Night shift

On duty: All officers

London.

1973. February.

The HMS George V spun slowly about its centre as it fell slowly through the darkening sky, inexorably dropping towards the ground. The lights of the city were splayed out below, its inhabitants unaware that a naval frigate was about to crash on top of it. Lola watched as the kengto wreaked havoc on one side of the ship, near the damage, the dual weight of the creature and the koth warrior sending tremors along the deck. The crew were frantically trying to assist the fight with the beast while also wrestling the airship back under their control.

“This is the captain,” came a voice over loudspeakers, somehow audible over the roars and crashes from where the kengto was tussling with Ngarkh. “The ship is going down. We are maintaining a controlled descent and I intend to put her down in the Thames. All non-essential personnel should get to the life boats now. That is an order.”

Having only ever been on one airship, Lola’s first thought was to be surprised that it had life boats; her second was to wonder how they worked. The rest of the Six Blades had emerged and engaged the creature, though its flailing legs, tail and wings made it difficult for any of them to get close. Ngarkh remained on top, gripping on with their own sharp claws, the kengto bucking violently in continued efforts to dislodge the rider. It reminded Lola of films she’d seen from the Americas.

She remembered she held a gun. Having fired it a single time to no effect she’d let it drop to her side - she wasn’t even sure if she’d hit the creature. Her weapons training was rudimentary at best; there simply wasn’t a need for ballistic weapons in London. At least, in days when they weren’t trying to hunt enraged megafauna.

“We should get to a life boat,” Clarke said, gripping her shoulder. “All of us. Time to go.”

“We should never have been on board in the first place,” Holland muttered. He pointed to the opposite side of the deck from the kengto. “There, look, they’re getting the boats ready.”

He was right. The life boats were comedically small scale versions of the HMS George V, with small open-air hulls slung beneath rigid metal frames that were being hastily assembled and the gas balloons inflated. Clarke pulled her along, leading the pack of SDC detectives away from the fight and towards safety.

“Go for the wing!” she head Ngarkh’s voice boom. Turning to look, while still being directed by Clarke, she saw the koth finally get a firm hold of one of the creature’s wings. Seizing the opportunity, Seline leaped forwards with one of her pikes and drove it into the thinner membrane of the wing, between the middle leg and the torso. The tip pierced the wing and went all the way through, Seline somehow keeping hold of it as the kengto writhed in anger and pain. For a human Seline was big and she used that bulk to fix herself in place, such that every movement of the creature tore the hole in its wing ever larger. Finally it spun and knocked her away with a blow from one of its legs. She stumbled backwards into her brother, who caught and steadied her. The kengto reared up and succeeded in dislodging Ngarkh, who tumbled to the deck. With a final indignant roar the kengto jumped from the side of the ship.

“It’s getting away!” Lola shouted, pointing.

“Yeah, so are we,” Holland said, “get in, Styles.”

The others were already in the life boat. Clarke had one foot in, the other still on the deck, his arm outstretched to help her in. The kengto was gone, somewhere far below, surely unable to fly properly with its damaged wing. It would land in the city and continue to carve destruction and death. The evacuation hadn’t been going on for long enough to have cleared all the streets.

Ellenbrin raced along the deck, stowing her bow on her back. “Ngarkh!” she shouted. “Come on, let’s get after it!” The big koth grinned, turned its back to her and she hopped on, looking like a small child getting a piggy-back from an adult. They both disappeared over the side of the airship, in pursuit if their quarry. Lola’s heart skipped a beat.

Seline and Halbad had already regrouped with Erik and were commandeering one of the life boats. Halbad was gesturing at the naval officers to hasten.

“Styles!” She heard Clarke calling her name. “Lola!”

She looked down at him in the life boat. “Sorry, partner,” she said, shrugging apologetically. “I’ll see you on the ground, I guess.”

Before he could protest, she ran across the deck to the boat containing the monster hunters and hopped in. They looked up in surprise. “This is no fight for a little girl,” Halbad grunted. “You should get back to your people.”

“I want to help,” Lola said. “I’m coming with you.”

“Suit yourself.” Halbad gestured to their pilot. “We good to go or what?”

Seline cackled loudly. “I think our cute detective’s got the hots for Ellenbrin.”

Lola felt her face flush red and hoped it wasn’t obvious against the night sky.

Halbad squinted and looked confused. “What?”

Then the pilot pulled a lever and the life boat detached from its parent and they floated away into the blackness.

*

“Jesus,” Clarke said, stepping back out of the life boat. Styles had run across the deck and jumped into another boat with some of the Palinese hunters. He felt a tugging in his chest, a desperate need to protect.

“Clarke, get in,” Holland shouted, “we’ve got to go.”

He blinked against the cold air, ran through options in his head, then hopped into the life boat. He took the pilot by the arm. “Can you follow the other life boat? The one that just dropped away?”

“Yes, sir.”

Holland flung his arms up in exasperation. “What the fuck are you doing? We need to get to safety. They’re going after that thing!”

“Get out if you don’t like it, Frank,” Clarke said, not bothering to look at the other man. “Anyone doesn’t want to come, find yourself another boat.”

For a moment Holland looked like he was going to argue the point, but instead he let out a frustrated cry and climbed out, followed by his partner. “You’re fucking crazy, Clarke,” he said, face full of vitriol. “If you think you can make a difference against that monster you’re deluded. All of you. It’ll rip you to shreds.”

Clarke turned to Chakraborty. “You staying?”

She smiled. “Damn right I’m staying. Let’s go save the new girl.”

“Kaminski?”

The man looked to Chakraborty, as if for confirmation. He pulled a crumpled cigarette from a pocket and lit it, looking like he hadn’t slept for a week. He breathed deeply, in then out. “Yeah, fuck it. Let’s go.”