Droubble: Mistakes

Mistakes

The notorious sky-pirate had plenty of time to think about his last mistake, and all those leading up to it. In hindsight, the trail went back distressingly far.

Why didn't he stick to the sea, like his old captain had suggested? Why precisely had he decided to get himself a zeppelin and take to the skies? He'd claimed at the time that it was the money, the treasure and ransomable aristocrats traversing the sky in the luxury liners, but really, he realized, it had been all about the prestige of the title "sky-pirate." And what good was prestige at this juncture?

Then there was his stupid vendetta against Sky Commander Riley. Piracy's about the profits, not personal grudges, and yet after that first fight he'd become obsessed with defeating the crazy vigilante. If he'd just laid low...

And that ill-conceived attack from above, the questionable advantage of hiding in the sun far outweighed by the maneuverability lost by venting so much gas in making that steep dive...

And safety lines – they may have cramped his style, but style seemed somehow less important now.

Not much longer to think about it, though; the ground was coming up fast.