The navigator, p.19
The Navigator, page 19
- 37-
"You're getting a bit too comfortable in my chair."
Quill looked back at Kole from the helm. The captain's seat was lined with soft, cushy leather.
"If the shoe fits, I wear it."
"I dunno." Kole scratched his nose. "I have pretty big feet. I doubt any girl could walk around in my shoes without tripping and falling on her face."
Quill stood up to let Kole take his seat. He didn't, but instead walked over to the windows.
"A mail ship just came in from the Raft. Must have left a day or so after us. It brought along a messenger."
"Any interesting news?"
"The messenger's for you. He said it's a private message."
"Who is he?"
"Didn't say his name." Kole adjusted the height and tilt of his chair. "He's blond - a stocky fellow. He's on the starboard deck, waiting for you."
"Do you mind if I go see him now?"
"Go ahead." Kole waved her off. "I won't miss you. I'm used to being alone up here."
Quill walked out of the bridge and skipped down the steps, curious to see who had come for her. She stopped on the landing and stared down at the deck. She could see a man standing on the starboard side of the ship with his arms crossed.
"Lhan! Oh my God! What are you doing here?"
Quill hopped down the last few steps and jogged up to Lhan. She hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.
Lhan smiled as Quill's lips brushed against his stubble. "Glad to see you're okay. I was worried - you never came to say goodbye to me."
"Sorry. I had to leave the Raft in a hurry to get this job. I had no idea where Petal was and everything else got lost in the shuffle."
"It's okay. As long as you're safe, and you're here now."
"Well, what are you doing here? How did you escape from Mordecai's clutches?"
"Dahmlam sent me."
"Dahmlam? Since when do you work for Dahmlam?"
"I don't. He wanted me to deliver a message to you. I agreed to do it because. . ." Lhan looked away. "Because I really care about you, Quill."
"What's going on? Why did Dahmlam send you?"
"He sent me because I care about you, Quill," Lhan repeated. "And he knew he could trust me with this message."
"What's the message?"
"The ship Petal was looking for. The Yong ship. Dahmlam found it like you asked. He said it doesn't belong to Yong anymore. It's being used by Kudu."
"I'll have to tell Petal."
"Quill. . .it's a P.R.K.S.S.S. ship now."
Quill's body locked up. The acronym echoed in her mind.
"The secret police? The State Security Service!"
"I'm sorry." Lhan glanced around to see if anyone overheard them. "Dahmlam said. . .he told me that. . .Quill - they're coming after you."
Quill almost lost her balance and fell overboard. It felt like Lhan had punched her in the stomach. She tried to catch her breath.
The State Security Service was the most feared organization in Kudu. Its jack-booted thugs and political commissars were above the law. S.S.S. agents could kill or imprison anyone they considered a danger to the Republic with impunity.
"Wha - why? Why me?" Quill tried to swallow her spit, but her throat was too tight. "What do they want with me? This is a mistake. I'm a nobody. A nothing. I never did anything!"
"Either Dahmlam didn't know why or he didn't tell me. They say the S.S.S. has eyes and ears all across the ocean. I figured that's why Dahmlam sent me to tell you this. I would never betray you."
"This can't be right. If – if they're after me, I'm as good as dead. They'll hunt me down. They find everyone they're after. . ."
"I don't know what to say. But maybe this will help-"
"What? What! What will help? What could possibly help me? I'd need an army to keep them away - and my own private island to hide on."
"Dahmlam said he couldn't find out anything else about the ship once it was linked to the S.S.S. – everything came up classified. But, there's supposed to be an S.S.S defector living on the Isle of Mann. His name is Arnold Wyman. He's been hiding there for a few years. Mann's chieftains protect him. Dahmlam said you should speak to him – he would know about the ship – and maybe he could help you avoid the S.S.S."
Quill laughed.
Lhan looked at her like she'd gone crazy.
"Are you okay?"
"No. I'm not okay! What am I going to do? I'm dead."
"I think you should go to Mann and look for that defector. Maybe he can tell you why they're after you, or what you could do to stop them."
"I can't stop them. They're going to hunt me down and kill me."
"Shhhh." Lhan grabbed Quill, hugging her tightly. "Don't panic; it doesn't help anything. Stay rational. You're so smart. You can think of a way out of this. And I'm here now. I came here for you - to help you. We can get Petal and sail to Mann together."
"I don't want to go to Mann! I want this to stop! I want to be left alone. I want to go home, Lhan! I want to be with my family - my mom, my dad. None of this is fair. I want my old life back. I - why is all of this happening to me? Why can't my life be normal?"
Quill began to cry. Seabirds squawked overhead, responding to her sobs.
Lhan cradled Quill's head in his beefy hands, trying to shush her.
***
Petal skipped up the steps. She was still energized from her time in the ocean. She felt wired and hyper alert. She'd never seen anything like the Salvage Yard. Her whole body tingled with pent-up excitement. She absolutely had to talk about what she'd seen with someone. Quill was the only person she could think of to unload on. Joab was still busy underwater. She flew across the Deep Star like a miniature whirlwind, stomping her way up the stairs to Quill's cabin, and frantically knocking on her door.
Quill cautiously cracked it open.
"Petal. . ."
"Hi, Quill!" Petal was glowing. "The city was incredible! You should've come with me! I've never seen anything like that! It was so big - so beautiful. There were turtles and pink fish and all kinds of coral. And the fins and snorkel were amazing. I felt like a fish. I even saw this weird statue on one of the old buildings. It looked like it-" Petal stopped midsentence. She looked more closely at Quill's face. It was crisscrossed with nervous wrinkles.
Petal cocked her head, wondering why Quill was worried. She peeked past her and noticed Lhan standing in the corner of the cabin. His teeth were clenched down on his lip; it looked like he was going to bite through it.
"What's wrong?" Petal backed away from them. "Why is Lhan here?"
"Dahmlam found out about the Kowaka Adon. It's a P.R.K.S.S.S. ship."
Petal gave Quill a blank stare.
"You don't know what that means?"
"No. Where is it? Does he know where it took Junk? Is she okay? Does it still have her?"
"It's a secret police ship," Quill said, deadpan. "The secret police are looking for both of us."
Petal nodded, still clueless as to why Quill sounded so glum. "Okay, but where did it go? Does Dahmlam know where it took Junk?"
"Petal," Quill groaned. The girl was so naïve it made Quill feel even sorrier for her. "It probably took Junk to Kudu. You understand what that means? We can never go there."
"Why not? If that's where Junk is I'm going there."
"It's not that simple," Lhan cut in. "Kudu is a giant country, swarming with soldiers. The people that took Petal are its police. We'd have no chance against them. Dahmlam gave us a lead, though. He said that a man who knows about the Kowaka Adon lives on the Isle of Mann. He said we should go talk to him. Maybe he knows a way to get your sister back from Kudu."
Petal nodded furiously. "Okay. Let's go. I mean, can we go now? How can we get there?"
Quill walked over to her bed and picked up a small bag she'd packed earlier. "I told Kole about all of this. At first he was pretty pissed that we wanted to cut out in the middle of the job, but once I told him who was after us, he almost threw me overboard to spare his crew the risk. Everyone's scared to death of the S.S.S. - so don't tell anyone else about this. Kole knows an old fisherman who's been trading with the salvage ships. He's going to come alongside the Deep Star in an hour. He's headed to the Isle of Mann to sell his catch. Kole was sure he'd take us with him - as long as we don't tell him the S.S.S. is involved."
"Okay."
"I would tell you to say goodbye to Joab, but it'd probably be safer for him if he doesn't know we're going. Pack up anything you need. I'm sorry, Petal. I'm sorry about this."
"Why are you sorry? I'm closer to finding Junk now. This is great news. I don't need to pack. I don't own anything. I'm ready to go when you are."
"Look at her." Lhan chuckled. "We should take a page from her, eh? She bears it all like a soldier."
- 38-
Petal clutched the long, swaying cable. It was segmented every two inches or so, which allowed it to bend and swivel with the wind. It moved like a snake in the sky, undulating in a lazy, wave-like pattern. The bottom of the cable dangled almost a mile below her, hanging several hundred feet above the surface of the sea. She stared down past her feet at the distant face of the ocean. It looked like a giant piece of wavy glass. From her extreme altitude, she could see Ea's curvature on every horizon.
A stiff wind swirled the wispy clouds that surrounded Petal. She clung even more tightly to the cold cable as it rocked back and forth from the breeze. The sea below her didn't seem to move at all – a giant blue marble frozen in time.
Petal turned her eyes upward, following the cable high into the blue sky. Half a mile above her head was a bulbous gray shadow veiled by the clouds. The cable was dangling down from it, like a long rope anchored to the gates of heaven.
***
Petal yawned and rubbed her eyes as she made her way out of the cabin, onto the little fishing boat's main deck. She still felt dizzy from sleep and her latest vision. When she stepped outside, she could smell moisture and humidity hanging in the air.
A thunderstorm was brewing.
"Hi." Quill peered back at her from the bow. She'd been admiring the view while Lhan and Styvers worked on hauling a fishing net in.
Styvers was an old, wrinkled man. He had a high-pitched giggle that sounded like the laugh of an ancient prospector. His gnarled joints and wizened appearance were deceiving, as he was able to buzz around his fishing boat like he'd just downed twenty cups of coffee.
"Whoa, whoa - what are you doing?"
Styvers shooed Lhan away from the hand crank that controlled the boat's winch. He began to loosen the tension that was starting to fray the nylon line.
Lhan stepped back from the crank, holding his hands up in mock surrender.
"You're going to jam the fucking thing if you just keep on cranking away," Styvers cackled. He let the line go lax and then began to crank it taut again.
"Sorry. I'm rusty at this. I'm a dock hound. Been a while since I've gone fishing."
"We ain't fucking fishing no more, boy!" Styvers put his hand on the small of Lhan's back and pushed him toward the winch. "Come on now, gotta haul in our catch before the rain's on us."
Quill paid little attention to the two men, instead staring out to sea. Styvers's fishing boat looked microscopic compared to the surrounding waves. The sky above the boat was dark and overcast. She could hear low rumbles of thunder.
"This is going to be a bad storm."
"Then what the fuck are you standing around for, girl!" Styvers barked, working the other side of the crank. "Get up top and take the sail down!"
Quill sneered at the disagreeable old man. She climbed the ladder that ran along the side of the cabin and made her way on top of the wheelhouse. She then took hold of the rope that anchored the sail. She began to pull it in, hand over hand, which slowly drew the sail down.
Petal watched Styvers, Lhan, and Quill shuffle about the boat, rushing their work to beat out the storm. She could hear the first taps of raindrops hitting the sea. She scanned the water off the bow and saw that the clouds in front of the boat were almost black. They seemed to sag down from the sky.
"It's coming in from the east," she said vacantly, to no one in particular.
Quill heard Petal and looked up at the storm. The sky ahead was dark with thunderheads, swirling together into a brooding whirlpool. She turned back to stern, to see if the sky looked less ominous behind the boat. There, she noticed a tiny shape near the western horizon. She studied the far off dot for several minutes.
It was a ship, sailing toward them.
Lhan cursed under his breath. The line holding the net had once again jammed on the winch. It was too heavy with fish to be hauled in so quickly. He took a break while Styvers tried to find a way to give it more slack, staring up at Quill to see what had caught her attention.
"Hey, Quill! What are you looking at?"
"There's a ship behind us!" Quill shouted. She squinted to better see it. "It's pretty far away. . .but something about it's. . .strange."
"Quit dicking around!" Styvers grabbed Lhan's limp hand and put it on the crank. "I've got two hundred sesterces worth of fish on the other end of this line and I'm not losing it! Haul it in!"
Quill continued to watch the ship as it bore down on them. When it was roughly a mile away she could see its shape.
It looked uncomfortably familiar.
"Oh my God," Quill mumbled. The ship grew closer. "Holy fuck!"
Petal climbed up the ladder and stood next to Quill on top of the wheelhouse. She saw the ship too now.
"You know that ship?"
Quill was bleach white. "It's the Widower."
Petal stayed quiet, expecting Quill to explain.
"Styvers!" Quill scurried down to the deck.
Styvers and Lhan were still busy working the winch. "Don't I look a little busy right now?"
"There's a ship coming after us! It's closing!"
"Huh?" Lhan looked up past the winch, at the approaching vessel.
"It's Naris's ship! It's the Widower!"
Styvers stopped what he was doing and studied the Widower. It was large with a triple set of masts and two threatening six-inch deck guns. It bounded up and down in the choppy sea, bearing down on them by the moment.
"Who's Naris? Some pirate?"
"He tried to kill me. He wants to kill me. He must be coming after me! He'll sink us!"
"Pirates don't give a fuck about me. They don't steal fish. How would he know you're on my boat?"
"I- I don't know. But that's him! He's coming for me!"
Lhan shifted his gaze between Quill and the Widower. "Are you sure that's Naris's ship? There's no way he could know you're out here."
"It's him! It's him! We have to go! We have to go right now!"
The sky opened up above them. A torrential downpour quickly buried the little fishing boat under a curtain of falling water.
Lhan shook from his rising nerves and the chill of the rain. "We better do something soon; he'll be on us unless we get moving!"
"We still have a hundred feet of line before the net!" Styvers spat. He was now soaked, the cold rain streamed down his weathered face and poured off his clothing. "Just grab the crank and-"
"We don't have time! It's slowing us down. Cut it loose! We have to move! NOW!"
Quill's scream was drowned out by the wind. The ship began to rock steeply as the waves swelled and grew more violent from the storm. The force of the water continually tugged at the nylon line, pulling the ship backwards.
"I'm not cutting it loose! That net is worth more than you are. My whole catch is in there!"
A bolt of lightning arced high above the ship. Its blinding flash branched off into three, twisted fingers. The following thunder shook the boat and reverberated in the water.
"We don't have time for this argument!" Lhan rifled through his pockets. He pulled out a long knife and held it to the line.
"Don't you dare!" Styvers grabbed his arm. "This is my ship! I make the decisions! If that pirate wanted us dead, he would have opened fire."
Petal hopped down onto the deck. She struggled to see everyone through the rain. Little bits of hail began to fall from the sky. They smacked against her face and forehead.
"Maybe he wants us alive. . ."
Styvers glared back at the Widower. It was bearing down on them at an intimidating, ramming speed. Although the ship was now very close, the deluge of rain and hail obscured it, so it was just a dark shadow.
