Jake Morrison's Arc

Chapter 48 of 54

Two days after the battle, Darrell called them back to the island of cabins. Jake sat at the long table in the main lodge. Marisol sat beside him. Marcus and Sofia came in from the dock. Darrell stood at the head, arms crossed. "The flying machines sank his boats," he said. "But they can't touch his base. It's walls and stone up north. We drop bombs and they bounce off. Meanwhile he builds a second fleet." Jake rubbed his eyes. "So the guns bought us nothing." "They bought us a month, maybe," Marcus said. He leaned on the wall. "Not more." Marisol pulled a rolled paper from her bag and spread it flat. Lines and measurements covered it. "I've been thinking about this since we left the enclave," she said. "On the way out, I saw the old shipyard in the city. There's an aircraft carrier sitting there. Rusted, but the hull is whole." Jake stared at the drawing. "A carrier can't fly." "This one can," she said. She tapped the paper. "We strip the weight. We build lift engines along the deck, same as the machines but bigger. It won't fly high. It doesn't need to. It carries a crew and all forty flying machines north in one trip." Her finger moved to the base at the top of the sheet. "We park it over his walls. The machines launch from the deck and hit him from above, close, where the bombs can't miss." The room went quiet. Sofia set down her cup. "An airship," she said. "An airship," Marisol agreed. Darrell bent over the drawing. He traced the engine lines with a grease-stained finger. "How long?" Marisol didn't blink. "Five hundred people working steady. One month." Darrell straightened. "Five hundred. That's my whole enclave plus half your island." "Then we use them," Jake said. He looked at the drawing, then at Marisol. She had built the first flying machine from scrap. She had never been wrong about a build yet. "We don't have a month to waste arguing." Marcus pushed off the wall. He walked to the table and looked at the engine mounts. "The mounts need welding. Real welding, not patch work." He looked up. "I'll run the engine crews. I can teach the mainland people to weld while we work." He held out his hand to Marisol. "It'll fly. I've seen what you build." Marisol shook it. Darrell drew a slow breath. "One month. I'll send every hand I can spare." He rolled the drawing and tucked it under his arm. "We start at the shipyard tomorrow." Jake stood. The bombs couldn't crack the tyrant's base. Now they had a plan that could. But it meant emptying both settlements of workers for a month, leaving the walls thin behind them. He looked at Sofia. "Who guards home while everyone builds?" No one answered. The month had already started.