Chapter V: The Plunge

“Captain, it’s working! We’re leaving the other two ships in the dust!” Copper Sand’s voice was filled with equal measures of anxiety and elation.

A part of Morning Sky understood that entirely. Spellbursts hit the Current all the time, and didn’t affect the Current permanently. They didn’t do lasting harm, far as anyone knew. No one really had any idea, though, what would happen when the energies collided. Sometimes, it’d form asteroids, or other matter, sometimes it’d create energy, like an explosion that could be seen for miles. She knew it’d been reckless. Then again, they hadn’t had any better options.

That didn’t make it any less crazy. She looked tensely towards the aetherscape behind them. The third raider wasn’t to be seen, but it was still definitely out there, she was sure of that much. She rode the ship as close to the streams of green below her as she dared. They needed all the speed they could get. They were close enough now that the occasional, errant plume of magic coming up from the Current threatened to throw them off course, and already Morning Sky had needed to dodge a few.

And yet, that wasn’t what worried her most, right now. She couldn’t place a hoof on it, but there was something different, and it threatened her concentration even with a ship full of bloodthirsty griffon pirates right behind them.

She could feel it, in her head, feeling about in her mind. It worried her. It made her feel threatened, even more than the griffons chasing after her right now. What could be more threatening than someone trying to kill you?

The fact that last thought wasn’t even my own.

She expected a sensation of awkwardness, from whatever was trying to worm its way inside her mind. Instead, she just felt an overwhelming sense of disbelief. And not even the sort of shocked, surprised disbelief she’d hoped for.

You’re telling me you just figured out that I’m someone else’s voice in your head. The tone was, if anything, deadpan.

You didn’t exactly bother to make a proper introduction, you know. And I think I have a right to ask WHAT THE HAY ARE YOU DOING INSIDE MY HEAD.

Look, this isn’t exactly the time for formalities. You’re still in danger! I was trying to warn you earlier about the griffons, but you were too far from the Current for me to form any kind of real connection. You’ve got to keep moving, you’re almost to the Harbor. I’m trying to help, honest!

Morning Sky swerved to avoid another plume of emerald magic. Alright, alright, okay! Can you at least give me any idea where the third one is by now?

My connection is with you, everything else is a blur, indistinct. I’m trying to find them, but it’s all hazy.

“Captain,” Nova Light spoke up. “I’m picking up more wakes in the current. They’re out there, somewhere.”

Does that help any?

Wait… The Current, if they’re in what you call the Emerald Current, then…

That uneasy silence told Morning Sky all she needed to know. She brought them even lower, the underside of the ship scraping against the streams below as she tried to go even faster, solid magic lashing against their sails.

“Captain, there’s something on the starboard—“

Morning Sky turned hard to port before Nova Light even began his sentence. The ship groaned from the maneuver and she struggled to keep it from being caught in the waves of magic below. It was just seconds later that the raider burst from a stream off their port side, the front of the craft sweeping upward like a wicked-looking blade. The griffon ship shot straight upward, leaving a glistening trail of emerald magic behind it. It’d meant to smash right through them.

The Current… He’s so good or so insane he’s willing to fly INSIDE the Emerald Current itself? If the voice in her mind hadn’t warned her even as Nova Light was talking, odds are it would have worked, too.

“I’m picking up some… Captain!” Nova Light’s voice turned panicked again. “The raider’s cannons are still fully charged!”

Morning Sky started to begin evasive maneuvers once again before the full implication of what Nova Light just said. She started to search for the raider on the viewscreen before the voice confirmed just what she was thinking.

Go! Go! Hurry!

Morning Sky banked hard to port and kept the Wandering Star so close to the Emerald Current the freighter was almost swimming in it.

“They’re not aiming for us!” Copper Sand called out. “Diverting power to engines!”

Out of the corner of her eye, Morning Sky could see the twin cannon shots fire, so charged with lightning that lashed out in great, long arcs, screaming down towards the same trajectory they’d taken before Morning Sky turned the ship. They weren’t aiming for the Wandering Star, though.

Morning Sky worked the engines for all she could. And at the last moment, she angled the freighter at another sharp turn, up and out of the Current as fast as she could manage.

The twin shots impacted the surface of the Current. And all at once, the sea of green magic below them erupted into chaos. Lightning surged through the magic. Raw energy kicked up by the blow exploded from the turbulent stream.

Left! Right! Right! The voice was frantically calling out directions as Morning Sky swerved to avoid the geysers of raw magic shooting up from below. I see them too! I promise! Her eyes widened as she just narrowly dodged another blast. Okay, maybe not all of them. Nova Light was frantically calling out reports at this point, but they were almost background noise by now. Down below, Sun Strike, Silver Vein, Golden Light and Silver Song were trying to return fire, but the raider stayed too far out of their firing arc for it to do any good. The shots from the raider were coming more quickly, now, and the Current below them was not calming yet. He was trying to narrow their options, use the geysers of energy to box them in and finish them off.

We have to do something. Even if we get clear he’s going to get lucky eventually.

Left! The voice’s warning rang out before she stopped to reply. We just need to hold out a bit longer, we don’t have any better options right now that I can see. The Harbor Watch has to have picked up the distress signal by now; they’ll respond soon, you’re getting closer.

Morning Sky swerved to dodge another shot from above and made another hard turn to avoid another plume of chaotic energy rising from the surface. He was gaining. They were out of time. Straining her eyes for anything that could help, she finally saw what she was looking for.

“The edge of the hot zone is just up ahead!” Copper Sand called out. “We’re almost free.”

“Until he charges up another shot like the last one,” Nova Light pointed out in a tone that just barely managed to be calm.

“We need a solution fast, he’s trying to gain on us,” Morning Sky replied, looking behind them. The griffon craft had come down to their level, to take full advantage of the Current’s energies again. They were moving fast out here, but ultimately, he would catch up again. And his shots were getting closer. It was like he was adapting to Morning Sky’s maneuvers.

We won’t survive like this. It’s time to consider all our options.

What, exactly, are ‘all our options’?

Morning Sky passed between another pair of geysers, and swerved only just in time to avoid the raider’s next shot tearing through the main sail. The edge of the disruption was just ahead. Morning Sky weaved past another pillar of magic and braced herself for what was coming.

The voice in the back of her mind finally seemed to grasp the situation too.

You… You can’t possibly be serious. There’s no way.

If you can read my mind, you know I’m dead serious.

Are you kidding? This is the worst plain I could think of—wait!

They cleared the disruption, the flows of magic beneath them growing calm once again, a churning sea, flowing onward, and a steadily gaining ship right behind them, trying to fill the air with shots. The streams were predictable once more, and Morning Sky looked down at them with the smallest hint of trepidation.

It faded as she reached for the lever by her left foot and sent the freighter into a steep plunge, straight down into the river of magic below.