The scent of phantom rainfall tricked the senses while Jessica and Sub Terra soared toward the storm. Faceless tides of wind braced every passenger on deck, their grimaces lit under the red diodes throughout the cabin: an ensemble of determination, anxiety, and fear. And just outside, outlined in the dark, an array of airships bobbed and weaved across the night sky.

There was a taut rope over and underneath the cabin floor. "Is something pulling that?" Jessica asked when a hand ...