Take Back the Skies Read Online Free PDF Page B

engines.’
    Catherine scurried after Fox as he hurried out of the control room.
    â€˜So, that was Ben and Harry,’ he said. ‘You’ve only two others to meet – Matt, the engineer, and Alice, Harry’s wife. Alice is a proper sweetheart. Be nice to her, or you’ll get storms from Harry. Matt’s a cheeky sod, but all right. You’ll see.’
    â€˜It’s just the five of you?’ Catherine asked, surprised. ‘I thought you’d need more people for a ship this size.’ From what she could remember, there were thirty crew members on each of the small government ships, and about a hundred on the larger ones. Her father had once told her that some trade ships had up to three hundred crew members and were practically a small town in themselves.
    â€˜We probably do. We get by just fine, though,’ Fox told her with a shrug. She wondered how long he had been on the ship. She didn’t dare ask, however; maybe she’d try when they were a little friendlier with each other. ‘This level is controls and storage,’ he continued. ‘And the trap topside. Level below is crew quarters, washrooms, galley, and a bit more storage. Below that we’ve got more storage and the engines: that’s where Matt and me spend most of our time. And bottom level is just storage.’ Catherine nodded, surprised that a ship this size had four levels. She’d only anticipated three.
    â€˜So what is the ship for? I can’t imagine a pleasure ship with that much storage, and I definitely can’t see you getting a permit.’ Pleasure permits were solely for the incredibly wealthy. Her father had one, but he rarely used it, as he deemed travelling unnecessary. As far as he was concerned,everything important would come to him rather than the other way around, and if it didn’t come to him, then it clearly wasn’t important enough.
    Fox’s lips twisted into a devious smirk, and his eyes sparkled mischievously. Catherine unconsciously leaned closer, curious to know what could cause such amusement.
    â€˜Well, that’s where things get interesting.’ Fox paused. ‘Not that I should be telling you this until Alice gives you the OK. But you look like you can keep a secret.’ He raised a questioning eyebrow.
    â€˜Course I can,’ Catherine said. What could they be hiding?
    â€˜Well, I suppose you’ll figure it out sooner or later,’ he relented. ‘As far as the government knows, we’re fur traders shipping from Siberene. With the storms getting more active over the past year or two, not many ships are willing to make the journey there. Especially not the bigger trade ships. But we’re small enough to nip round the bigger tornadoes with Ben at the wheel. The man can’t half fly,’ Fox said with no small amount of admiration in his voice. Catherine smiled; there were obviously strong bonds between the crew of the
Stormdancer
. The storms worsening was news to her, though; she never paid much attention to weather reports. She barely knew the difference between storm classifications, and the bigger ones hadn’t come close to Anglya in years.
    â€˜And what do you do, really?’ she asked shrewdly.
    Fox’s grin turned wolfish.
    â€˜We may or may not fill the lowest level – which doesn’t exist in the ship’s registered blueprints – with itemsmonitored under rationing. And we may or may not happen to misplace those items among the needy of Anglya.’
    Catherine stared at him, realisation dawning. ‘You’re smugglers!’ she gasped. How did they get away with smuggling goods so blatantly? They docked in the city shipyard and everything!
    â€˜Any problems with mildly illegal business?’ Fox asked, dropping down the narrow manhole, then stepping aside so Catherine could do the same. ‘Because if so, we’ll drop you off in Siberene and leave you to make your own