23
Sep
Wind whipped Isabella’s hair as she leaned out the window. “David, come here!” David obediently looked out, then sat back down to his book. “Beautiful, dear”.
“You have all the romance of a shrew, husband. We are flying across the country on a beautiful clear day, and you’ve got your nose buried in some tripe about a long lost jungle creature.”
“Izzy, I am quick content with my lot in life. I have seen the country many a time. I have not seen this book before.”
“You are such a bore.” Isabella flounced off, heading to the bar where someone of more suitable personality would entertain her. Above, the engines of the mighty dirigible whirred and whined, a constant background hum.
Isabella was quite pleasantly drunk when she returned to their cabin. David glanced up and sighed. He’d have to tuck her in again, and make sure she didn’t do anything stupid. She was a wonderful lady, but hardly the most skilled with self-control. Rather unbecoming to her stature, but all the more endearing because of it.
David was hopeful their escape had gone unnoticed, but became more and more apprehensive as the days passed. Airships were hardly inconspicuous, and someone had to have noticed.
His premonitions were proven right the next day, as dawn broke not with the rising of the sun, but with the rattle of gunfire and the deep-throated cough of cannons. Dashing to the window, David saw small gnats buzzing in the distance, charging about the dirigible. “Blast! Isabella, we have to get you to the emergency plane!” She moaned in response, still sleeping off her exuberant consumption of alcohol.
Grabbing her by the arm, David threw Isabella over his shoulder and ran down the corridor, bumping into walls and doors as the airship slewed about, trying to defend against those pesky bi-planes that harassed her.
A soldier stepped into David’s way, banning his entry into the escape chamber. David growled, and the soldier stepped aside, suitably chastened. Handing a still sleeping Isabella into the escape plane, David waited. Here, deep in the bowls of the airship, there was nothing that could be heard except occasional vibrations.
The order to abandon ship came over the speakers soon after. Isabella, now awake, squawked with indignation at the command, but silenced when David climbed into the pilot’s seat. Behind him, two more pilots climbed into the other escape planes. Today, they would not be trying to escape, but instead draw the pursuers away.
Isabella grabbed onto David’s shoulders as the bottom dropped out from under them. The rotary engine sputtered into life, the retaining hook let go, and they were off. Above them, the airship listed badly to one side, helium chambers punctured and spilling buoyancy. There were three gnats angrily buzzing about, and they broke off from their attack on the airship to speed down upon David’s biplane.
Their attack was too predictable, and cannonfire from the dirigible downed the third in line. The second swung away at the flak burst, but the first raked his guns across the wings despite David’s best effort to dodge. The metal groaned, but held together. Isabella shouted imprecations at the aircraft, then grabbed the ring-mounted machine gun in the rear turret. She wasn’t going to let those bastards get an easy run at it the second time.
The second plane came in high and from the right, but between Isabella’s gunfire and the arrival of the other two escape planes, it was driven off before it could fire a shot. Seeing numbers evenly matched, the escape planes engaged the gnats in a dogfight, trying to force them away from David and towards the still functioning firepower of the dirigible.
One escape plane fell to the ground, struck by guns mounted on the airship. The other was soon on fire, bright flames gushing from holes in the fuel tank. Leaving it to its death, the two gnats swung back around, chasing down the fleeing biplane. David turned the plane at an angle to their pursuit, giving Isabella angle to fire around the rudder.
The pursuit split, one coming high, the other low. Machineguns crackled, and Isabella launched an answering stream of tracer. The bursts fell wide, and the two pursuers swung around for another pass.
The lower of the two planes disappeared into a cloud, and failed to come out again. Perhaps luck was on their side. The higher stooped like a hawk, coming down at a steep angle to avoid incoming fire. The tactic worked, for Isabella’s turret could not aim high enough to shoot the fighter, and his fire came down unimpeded onto the biplane, tearing off a corner of the upper wing. Isabella swung the turret and waited, and as the gnat flew past, she unleashed a close range burst into the top of the plane. It burst into flames and spiralled down, the dive ending with a heavy crash into the ground.
Lifting her hand to his lips, David gallantly kissed his wife, then settled into the task of escaping from this damn country. The deposed queen and her husband flew north, hoping some day to come home once more.
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