Buccaneer Sky - Part 2: We sail The Jolly Roger

"This is our home Rae, and it's yours too, if you want it to be."
I gracefully introduced our vessel with a slow presenting swing of my arm. And there she lay, the suitably named Jolly Roger. We didn't fly the colors, but we called our ship Jolly Roger mainly as means of showing that we belonged to no nation or organization. The ship was a half-zeppelin half-boat construction that was manned with the greatest persons of our time, well, according to themselves.1

"Do you have any food?" Rae asked.
Janet and I looked at each other and smiled.
"I think there's someone you should meet Rae," Janet said, "just come with me."2

I followed them onto the ship and down into our kitchen, where we were to introduce the hungry girl to our master cook.
"Raphael! Janet! You're back!" our cook, Francis, said as we walked into the kitchen. "I see you brought food" he said, looking at Rae with a sinister smile. Rae was quick to retreat behind me, looking for protection. Francis was the fist to laugh, and Janet and I followed shortly. Francis had a laugh that even made the confused Rae join in, as he used the whole depth of his voice to laugh, and it made his big belly bounce and shake as he did.
"I'm just joking," he said and put a comforting hand upon Raes head, "you look starving, why don't you come with me and get some food?"
Rae followed him into the next room, the dining room, and he shortly returned to get some food for her to eat.
"Who is she?" he asked, as he put a recently cooked chicken and some rice on a plate.
"She's an orphan from Crow city, hated winner of a round in the cage" I told him as I sat down and grabbed an apple from a bowl nearby.
"I see, she's sailing with us now?" Francis asked as he poured sauce next to the rice and the chicken.
"Yeah, her name is Rae" Janet said. I threw her an apple as well, we hadn't had a thing to eat all day, and we couldn't wait for dinner.
"Well, I better serve young Rae some quality food, I suggest that you find her some clothes before she freezes to death Janet" he said and walked into the dining room with the food and a glass of cold water.
"I agree, it's gonna get cold when we get into the air" I said, and winked at Janet.
"So when are we leaving captain?" Janet had already stripped down into her underwear.
"Ohh, it's that time of the day?" I asked, winking yet again.
"Don't even think about it, I'm exhausted," Janet laughed, "Rae will get these clothes right ahead, and I'll go get something new".
"Good idea, I'll go tell Jacob of our new guest, and I'll make him set sail as soon as possible."3

I walked out of the kitchen and onto the deck of the boat. I just barely registered, and turned on chance, to see a group of people marching towards our vessel. Three of them were obviously guards from Crow city, and I recognized some of the people as friends of the rock-thrower from the cage. Turned out they found out who did it anyway, perhaps made a bit more obvious by our sudden and violent departure from the scene. Two murders were frowned upon, even in Crow city.4

"shit," I muttered, before shouting "we're leaving, get this thing up in the air now Jacob! And Janet, come join me!"
I could hear the engine being turned on, and the propellers in the back slowly picking up speed. Janet came running up from our cabin, still pulling on a pair of new pants.5

"Go get your gun, and perhaps your dagger," I said and kissed her, "and get a shirt, it's getting cold" I shouted after her before turning my attention back to the people approaching the Jolly Roger. They were going to get to us before we could get airborne, I could see that. Still, I cut all the ropes connecting us to the ground, and pulled up our anchor. We were going to have to make a hasty get-away, and soon.6

"What seems to be the problem gentlemen?" I asked when the group had come close enough to hear me.
"You've been accused of two murders sir" one of the guardsmen said.
"Is that so? Murder of whom?" I asked, acting surprised.
"Yeah right, you killed our pal you fuck-face!" came a shout from one of the men.
"What's the punishment for two murders, should I be found guilty?" I asked. All three guards had their hands on their guns, the situation was tense.
"The punishment is death," said one of the guards, "but there has to be a trial of course" he added.
"Well, death, can't get much worse than that" I said, "so perhaps I should just add a couple more killings to the charge, just to make sure?" I said, as I pulled out my flintlock gun. The guards pulled out their guns as well, and so did two of the five other men.
"Watch it" Janet shouted to the men, she was pointing two guns at them from a window in our cabin. She had put on a white shirt and made her hair into a ponytail. And yet women claim to need much time at the bathroom.7

Suddenly, one of the men fired his gun. The bullet hit the Jolly Roger, a few feet away from me, splinters of wood flying past me. The man seemed surprised at his own shot, though his gun wasn't exactly hair-triggered. Anyway, it was time to return fire. Janet was the first to do it, one of her bullets hitting the leg of the man who had shot, the other blowing a hole into the head of a guard. One of the other guards was effectively blinded by the spraying blood, but the last one and the other man with a gun took their time to aim. Janet popped inside and threw herself into our bed just in time to dodge a bullet that flew directly above her. I used my shot to get the last guard, the only one still with a loaded gun. The bullet entered and exited his throat, and hit one of the men behind him in the arm. The three men without guns had gotten the guns of their dead allies now, and were reloading them with black powder. But the Jolly Roger had started moving, up and away, and we were soon out of sight. We wouldn't be returning to Crow city anytime soon.