But with his attention momentarily diverted, he missed seeing the Federation soldiers atop the Outer Wall who were now alerted to his presence and scrambling to ready a fire launcher on the battlements directly across from him. As Arrow sailed over the top of the makeshift barricade, the men manning the fire launcher fired it point-blank at Arrow. An explosion of fire flew right where Bombax was standing at the controls and the pilot box simply disintegrated.

Aphen screamed and surged to her feet, Arling clinging tenaciously to one arm, trying to pull her back down again.

For a second the air was so clouded and thick with debris and smoke that it was impossible to tell anything. Aboard Wend-A-Way, Cymrian had abandoned the pilot box to man her starboard rail slings, turning them on the Federation soldiers at the fire launcher on the battlements of the Outer Wall. It only took a single shot to smash them both. Then he was back in the pilot box, easing Wend-A-Way forward to where he, too, disappeared into the roiling cloud left by the hit Arrow had taken.

As Aphenglow struggled in Arling’s grip, Arrow surged back into view, a stricken wreck with her controls gone and her mainsail shredded. At first she couldn’t find any trace of Bombax, but then Arling screamed out his name and pointed. The Druid was clinging to what was left of the mainmast, bloodied and dazed, holding himself upright by what appeared to be sheer determination. Arrow dropped toward the rampway, listing and on fire, struck hard enough to shatter the keel, and slid forward toward the barred doors to the Keep and the defenders hiding behind them.

Aphenglow and Arlingfant abandoned their observation post, rushing back inside, out into the hallway and down the stairs as fast as they could manage. When they reached the lower hallway where they had left Woostra and the Trolls, they found everything in chaos. The doors leading in from the landing platform ramp had been smashed in; Arrow’s bow jutted through the opening, charred and still smoking. Wend-A-Way was parked midair to the ruined vessel’s port side, using Arrow as a shield to protect it from the masses of Federation soldiers gathering on the battlements of the Outer Wall while the Keep’s defenders loaded the wounded and then scrambled aboard themselves. Rail slings and fire launchers were being turned on Wend-A-Way and her passengers, but none of them had been mounted where they could do much damage and there was no time to move them. Clouds of smoke from Arrow’s burning wreck made it more difficult still to see clearly what was happening.

Aphenglow searched frantically for Bombax, unable to find him. But then Cymrian appeared beside her, caught her arm, and shouted that Krolling had carried the big Druid off Arrow and put him aboard Wend-A-Way and she must board, as well. Right now.