1889: Journey To The Moon (The Far Journey Chronicles) by George Wier, Billy Kring

shouted. “You are needed there. We’ll handle the pirates.”
    Jay-Patten grinned.
    The hull of the Arcadia became a sounding board for dozens of clanking irons. The noise was cacophonous.
    From the deck below them, Abigail Ross’s voice called upwards. “I’ve got Conklin belted in. Do you need my help up there?”
    “No,” Billy called down to her. “We’ve got them.” Billy’s hand whirled to get his pistols out of their holsters. He checked his load. “I’m loaded for bear.”
    A pirate face regarded Ekka, Billy and Denys through the main window nearest the midship cargo hatch.
    “Ropes,” Ekka said, and pointed to the cargo lashings close by. “We’ll have to tie ourselves off.”
    “I’m coming up there to help,” Jack Ross hollered.
    “No!” Ekka shouted. “Get us out of here! You can come up if they break into the ship.” Ekka grabbed the end of a rope and whipped it free from its stanchion and began tying it around Billy’s ankle. Jay-Patten broke his Nitro-Express open and inserted a round.
    The Indian helped himself to his feet. “I fight,” he said.
    “Good,” Billy replied. “Cook, fight. It’s all in a day’s work. Where’s that damned big robot when you need him?” Billy asked. No one responded or they simply couldn’t hear him. The clanging from outside had doubled in volume.
    Billy turned back to the hatch in time to see the inner wheel spin.
    “Oh shit,” he said. Then to himself he muttered, “So much for promises, Pat.”
    The massive hatch clanked inward and Billy Gostman put a hole in the first pirate’s forehead, right above his eyes. Three more swooped in after him, cursing and shooting. Jay-Patten vaporized one of them with a shot from his JPM and another discovered a knife had blossomed from his throat from the woman. He fell and was dead before he knew what was happening.
    “Him dead,” the Indian stated.
    The last of the three slashed at Billy with a cutlass but Billy brought up his pistol, absorbing the force. The gun fell from Billy’s stunned fingers. Billy shot him with the gun in his left hand.
    Four more pirates poured in through the open hatch.
    Thus began the sky battle over Colorado Springs.

     
    [ 21 ]
     
    “Intruder! Alert! Intruder! Alert!” the mechanical voice of the great robot filled the main cargo chamber of the ship. The robot took three stair steps at a time and emerged on the platform with Billy, Ekka, Denys and Two Hats.
    The four pirates turned to face the robot and were crushed by a hammer-like blow. They fell among the pile of their brethren. The robot went to the hatch and levered itself out. The fighters looked at each other, then in silent agreement checked their tie-off ropes and leapt after it.
    “Wait,” Two Hats called after them. “Where my rope?”
    Strangely there was no wind outside the ship. The robot crushed any pirate that came within reach. A harpoon struck it dead center, denting it. The robot wrapped its arm around the rope from the harpoon and then spun its arm at high speed, taking up the slack. Billy fired his gun at anything that came at them. There was scant light outside, and even the starlight was obscured. It was only from the dwindling flames in Colorado Springs that he could make out the silhouetted ships charging them and the men dangling from them.
    Jay-Patten fired the JPM at the black hulk of the dirigible that was being drawn to the robot by the twining of its arm. The brilliant light of the JPM round punctured the dirigible and set it on fire, and the ship began to lose altitude, fast. The robot spun its arm the other direction until the rope came free and tumbled into space. As the burning hulk fell, Billy could make out the ship’s name: Angelina . He’d known a Mexican girl with that name once. A real beauty.
    A shot tore through Billy’s shirt and grazed his side. Damn, but it burned. He almost went down, but Two Hats’s strong hands caught and righted him.
    “Two Hats return favor,”