(Dyn)

  The engineer flitted about his workshop with the freiergy of a squirrel hopped up on mana-tea. Shells, isters, and wired boxes cttered together in his long bony arms, threatening to spill onto the cluttered floor where an arming number of scorch marks marred the wooden floorboards.

  Dyn’s pulse raced as he forced himself to swallow, his body teh the stress of every precarious sway and near-drop. The drai skeleton spun around with a flippancy that made Dyn ch as he searched for the st device. He tightened his fists until his nails bit into his palms, wanting to shut his eyes but uo look away.

  ‘What if one slips through his ribs?’ His throat tightened as his mind filled with the image of a ister boung off the engineer’s pelvis and rolling toward him.

  Engineer Echo pced each device with the reverent care of ahusiastic hobbyist showing off his collectables. His bony fingers lingered o explosive, as if sav the moment before stepping baire his work. When he finally finished, a tidy line of explosives stretched across the table. Only then did Dyn realize he’d been holding his breath. He let it out with a shaky exhale.

  The engiepped aside, gesturing grandly at the array of explosives like a showman unveiling his masterpiece. “I’ve designed an arsenal of smart devices: motioors, thermal-detectors, light-and-shadow sensors, and sound-triggers. If it moves, radiates heat, or makes a peep, these beauties have you covered.”

  Dyn frow the idea of putting such devices in anyone’s hands, but Athrax’s expression told a different story. The old soldier looked on with the wide-eyed delight of a kid on Christmas m, ready to tear into the presents uhe tree.

  The engineer pointed further down the lih a flourish. “I’ve also got the basics—pressure-activated and timer-activated.” He gestured to a squat metal mih a pressure trigger on top. Beside it sat a drical ister with a small stoablet affixed to the side.

  “And over there, we’ve got the magic-activated one.” He jabbed a fioward a device housed in a clear, crystal box at the far end of the room, isoted from the others. “It’ll detonate on tact with metal.”

  Wedge ran his fingers along his jaw, and asked, “How does that help us with an arc beetle?”

  Engineer Echo threw up his hands in mock cession. “Perhaps… I was a bit overzealous.” His bones creaked faintly as he shrugged. “It’s my job to make them. Their application…” He rolled his bony hand out toward Ru. “I’ll leave up to you.”

  The engineer pointed his eyeless skull at each of them as he made his way to unveil his ultimate creation. “This st one came to me in a dream st night.” He opened an ornately fashioned box that sat on his desk, pulling out an egg-shaped explosive.

  Holding it up, the engineer marveled at the device, turning it carefully in his skeletal hand as he described it. “This multi-charge explosive features not only a sedary, but a devastatiiary explosion. It uses a novel bination of proximity, timer, and chemical triggers.”

  Dyn heard Athrax’s breath qui with excitement befng over. The old soldier fixed his wide eyes on the device, his tail twitg in barely tained anticipation.

  “The name…” He paused, his bony fingers lightly tapping against the device. “Is still a work in progress.”

  Dyn’s heart nearly gave out as the engineer casually tossed the grenade a foot into the air. “You throw the device, and the first charge triggers on impact—”

  He paused, catg the grenade mid-air, and noticed the collective bated breath from the group.

  “Oh…” Engineer Echo chuckled, holding up the device as to reassure them. “You’ll o throw it a bit harder than that if you want it to go off.” He resumed tossing it lightly, pying hot-potato with himself.

  “Where was I? Ah, yes. The first charge releases a highly visaterial that binds the device to the target, log it in pd starting the internal timer. Two seds ter, the sedary charge detonates, creating an explosion while super heating the dual-purpose binding agent. That triggers the chemical rea, setting off the third and st charge wheerial reaches its bustion poiing in another explosion.”

  “Spt, crack, boom bomb? No…” He shook his head, muttering as he tiesting names.

  Dyn poio the egg-shaped explosive. “You made a sticky grenade.”

  The engineer froze, theed the words slowly, testing them on his ent tongue. “Sticky grenade… Hmm. Short, accurate, and descriptive. I like it.” He o Dyn. “Sticky gre is.”

  “We’ll take the timer-activated explosive.” Ru poio the der with the stoablet attached to it.

  Athrax shot her a worried look, his tail unmoving behind him. “And the sticky greht?” His eyes pleaded with her. “You know, just in case?”

  Ru shook her head. “No.”

  Athrax let out a disappointed grunt. “Fine.” He turo Engineer Echo, holding out a cwed hand. “I’ll take the sticky grenade—”

  “No. He won’t,” Ru snapped, spping away his outstretched hand. Her gre, sharp as a bde, silehe low growl rising in his throat. Athrax sighed heavily and slumped back, crossing his cyberic arms as he turo admire the other explosives scattered around the room.

  “Do you have ae detonation ones?” Dyn asked absentmindedly, unsure if he’d missed them on the previous lists.

  The eilted his skull, the faint creak of bone breaking the silence. “Remote detonation? What do you mean?”

  “Yeah, you’ve got kiic, timer, chemical, magic, sonic—but what about a wireless trigger? Like in the movies bae, they used cell phoo send a remote signal over a wireless e.” Dyn pursed his lips as he thought of a Mother ons equivalent. “Like how echo locators work. Do you have anything that could send a remote signal like that?”

  Engineer Echo stood up straighter, his entire frame rattling with excitement. “Yes, we do… Echo locators! That’s brilliant.” His bony hands shot up, rattling slightly as he shook them in glee.

  Ru’s gre so Dyn. “We only have two pairs,” she said briskly, her arms crossing tightly over her chest.

  The engineer was like an avanche—o in motion, nothing could stop him from barreling through his course. He began pag in front of the group, his skeletal fiwitg as he worked through his thoughts aloud.

  “Using a remote, wireless signal to detohe explosive…” His pag faltered as he paused, his voice dropping to a mutter. “You could set it off from the safety of the ship.”

  His skull lifted sharply, sockets log onto Dyn. “And I thought my sticky grenade was a novel, boundary-pushing idea. But you…” He jabbed a bony fi him, his voice rising with excitement. “You, my passenger, are a genius!”

  He took an unnecessary, deep breath, his ribcage expanding with theatrical fir. “Just imagi… Detonating from any distance, safely, at will. A power to rival even magic itself,” the drai skeleton said in wonder.

  He turo Ru, his sockets almost pleading. “You simply must let me have a set of your echo locators.” Stepping closer, he csped her hands in his bony grip, his skeletal joints clig faintly as he made his case. “This could revolutionize demolitions as we know it! A live trial—a practical experiment—would be groundbreaking for my research. Imagihe paper I could write!”

  He stood there, gripping her hands firmly. The weight of his vision depended on her answer.

  Dyn bit his lip, uwisting inside of him. Had he just made a mistake? The thought of advang their warfare capabilities hadn’t even crossed his mind. “Maybe we shouldn’t—”

  Ru’s gaze dropped to their shared touch. Her fingers slipped free, and she stepped back, her movement cautious but deliberate. Her eyes lingered on his empty grasp for a moment, weighing the implications.

  Finally, her decision solidified. “Fine.” She turned, her voice crisp as she gestured sharply to P’reslen and Wedge. “Hand over a pair."

  “Oh, I am positively vibrating.” Echo’s skeletal hands rattled slightly as he collected the rocks, his enthusiasm tagious. “I’ll get started on this immediately. It’ll be worth it. I promise.”

  They left the eo his own devices, his muttered excitement following them out the door.

  Ru paused before addressing both groups. “Rest, rex, and recharge. We’ve got a lot of work a head of us, but if we do it right, Mother willing, by this time tomorrow, we’ll all be going home.”

  Dyn g the group as they exged smiles. Hope had lifted their spirits, but they weren’t out of the ju. As Ru had remihem, there was still work to do—and undry.

  Eury wasted no time in rushing past Dyn to get to her .

  “Where is she off to?” W’itney asked, tilting their head.

  “Deathwash mae, by the smell of it,” Hay’len replied dryly. The stench lingered on them all, but Eury had gotten the worst of it.

  “That’s fine. I just want a hot shower,” Dyn said, rubbing at his sore neck.

  W’itney shot him a look, narrowing their eyes. In that moment, Dyn uood exactly what Eury meant about rivals. Without another word, the outgoing drai bolted down the hall and toward the showers.

  “I’m going first,” W’itney called back, their shirt halfway over their head as they disappeared around the er.

  Dyn gave Hay’len a questioning look aured toward W’itney’s retreating form.

  “You get used to it…” Hay’len shrugged. “Eventually.” A faint grin tugged at the er of their mouth.

  Their trek back had taken more out of him than he realized. Without Ostello to restore his energy, he was running on fumes, his legs heavy and his head ached. Soon, even sheer force of will wouldn’t be enough to keep him going.

  He had a choiake, and the deadline loomed: stay on the ship or eat. Pig her would put them all at risk.

  Eury would be busy with the deathwash mae for a bit, and W’itook long showers. Actually, all three of the drai seemed to linger forever in the shower.

  ‘Probably a dragon thing,’ he thought.

  It’d be all too easy to fall asleep fully clothed again, especially given how exhausted he felt. His body ached, and his head throbbed, but somehow, he was wide awake. Staying out of his was just a precaution.

  Most of the on areas, like the mess hell, were off-limits in his mind. The fai smell of food, even just a whiff, made him sick with a painful hunger. He sighed, deg to go for a stroll instead. Until now, he’d barely had any free time to explore the airship.

  Previously, he’d kept to the passenger s, the mess area, the washroom, and above deck. But the ship was bigger than he’d realized, and tonight, his feet carried him to pces he’d never been. Occasionally he’d run into a mprian wearing a bck or blue bandana. They’d offer him a polite nod before hurrying on, their preoccupied expressions making it clear they weren’t avaible for a chat.

  Dyn stopped in his tracks, tilting his head to listen. The wooden hallways had grown more vocal sihe ship had taken to the ground, creaks and groans weaving through the silence like a chorus of pints. But underh it all, there was something else.

  He strained his ears, holding his breath to catch the faint sound.

  “Is that… moaning? I really hope it’s not a ghost,” he muttered, too tired to be afraid.

  Between starving, crash nding in the jungle, and hiding from kaiju, he really didn’t want to add hauo his growing list of ‘shit to deal with’.

  He took a few tentative steps, straining his ears. The moaning resolved into quiet sobbing—someone set.

  The sobbing led him to a closed door with a sign above it: Brig.

  Pg a hand on the door, he found it unlocked. Its hinges groaned as he pushed it open; the noise breaking the heavy silehe room beyond was cloaked in darkness, its only light spilling in from the hallway behind him, casting harsh shadows on the floor.

  “Hello?” Dyn called out, his voice eg faintly in the dark room.

  The g stopped abruptly.

  “Is… anyone in here?” he asked again, softer this time.

  A sniffle broke the silening from the er of the rather rge room. Otherwise, the space remained quiet.

  “I hear you. Hang o me get the light—”

  “No!” a feminine voice cried out, sharp and urgent, cutting him off. “Please, don’t,” she said in a softer, pleading tone.

  Dyn froze, his hand h he doorframe, mid-search for the light. The voice was unmistakable—his friend, the smallest mprian. Relief flickered through his exhaustion, but quickly followed as he wondered why she was in the brig. “Echo, is that you?” he asked gently, waiting patiently.

  A long pause stretched between them before she finally responded, her voice barely above a whisper. “Yes…”