Page 42 of The Sunlit Man

Nomad, the knight says, look up, fifty degrees to your left.

He followed the directions to a ship bobbing in the air, beleaguered by a large enemy ship locked onto it—and that enemy ship was boosting away from the darkness at full thrust. Like many of the Beaconite ships, the captured one was more a flying house than a military vessel, and it couldn’t counter the enemy ship’s greater power. It was being towed away.

That’s the one that we met the Greater Good in, the knight notes to the squire’s confused lack of understanding.

“Damnation. You sure?”

Unfortunately.

“Don’t suppose these people know to separate their command staff on different vessels, do they?”

Seems like the sort of thing you only learn from sad experience…

He sighed as Rebeke wove and dodged. The enemy ships ignored him; they were after larger prey, bearing more people.

Well?

“Thinking,” Nomad said, “on whether or not it’s too late to go back to the Cinder King and take him up on his offer.”

I’m glaring at you right now.

“You don’t have eyes.”

Which is why I have to explain it.

Nomad sighed, then tapped Rebeke on the shoulder and pointed at the ship in question. She looked in time to see two Charred leaping onto it, their open-fronted robes rippling as they soared. He lost what Rebeke said next to the wind, but her expression was horrified.

“Get me close!” Nomad shouted. “And be ready to pull me out in case I need it. Try not to get captured this time!”

She nodded, pulling up in another jarring maneuver. Unfortunately a fleeing Beaconite vessel roared across their vector. Many of them were doing a good job of avoiding capture—thatwassomething they had experience with. Still, Rebeke had to bank sharply left and then right to get back on track toward the Greater Good’s ship.

He noted another vessel coming up to their right—between him and the command ship.

“This is your fault, Aux,” he muttered.

Rebeke belatedly saw she was on a collision course and veered tothe side. He used the momentum to launch himself straight off the back of the cycle, hitting hard on the ship coming their direction.

He glimpsed confused people in the cockpit as he rolled across their deck, then barely got purchase and threw himself out over an expanse, almost missing the side of the Greater Good’s ship as it was towed in the other direction. He heaved himself up onto its deck, which was maybe ten feet across.

The enemy ship was still docked on the other side, hijacking the command ship’s own thrust, piloted by one of the white-coated officers. The woman saw him, eyes going wide. She frantically fumbled with her rifle.

Her ill preparation gave him a chance, so he dashed across the deck and tried to tackle her—but of course, his Torment decidedthatwould be too easy. It froze his muscles, sending him tripping in an embarrassing mess on the deck.

“That isstormingannoying,” he muttered, barely getting Aux up as a shield in time to block the rifle shots.

Didn’t you have an idea to deal with that?

“Yes, but it will take time to put together,” he said, backing away from the rifle fire. He eventually got even with the command ship’s front window—but that had been covered by a blast shield. As the officer stopped to reload, he formed Auxiliary as a crowbar and got the cover off in a single heave, sending the metal panel clanging to the deck. Then he threw himself shoulder first at the window behind it.

And bounced off.

“What is it with these people and their windows!” he said, this time throwing Auxiliary through first as a large barbell.

Don’t know, the knight replies as he smashes through the window with ease. Must be you.

Nomad grunted as bullets blasted the wall beside him, then hurled himself through and came up in a roll to his feet, out of sight of the riflewoman. Inside here, though, the two Charred from earlier were terrorizing the three Greater Good, who had pulled back to the far side of the room behind an overturned table. He saw their wizened heads peeking out as he stood up dramatically before the broken window. And wished to Damnation itself that he had any idea what to do next.

At least now the Charred turned their focus on him. They came in together, armed with batons. Fortunately the Cinder King took people captive so he could use them to make sunhearts, which explained his preference for batons instead of swords.

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