The gap year, p.39
The Gap Year, page 39
I’ve got you on the drone feed. Indy’s voice was calmer now. Go forward for another minute, then cut to your right, and you’ll see me on the beach.
Anna splashed onward, out of breath now. Paddling up each long wave made her feel like she was going backward, but then slipping down the other side on her shield shot her ahead. She began to hear surf, and in a few more minutes her feet touched the pebbly bottom. She walked forward, then staggered to her hands and knees in the surf as a wave took her.
“Right here.” Indy spoke aloud from just ahead, rising to her feet in the gloom. They were screened now from the pirates and merchants alike by the same narrow spit of land that the pirates had first attacked from. “Follow me.”
They ran up the beach for the tree line, Anna crouching over, Indy running protectively beside her. When they reached cover, they turned to look back toward the merchant ship and its attackers.
On deck, Anna could see the crew silhouetted against the dark sky, hands raised. Pirates walked among them, a few holding lanterns, the rest either menacing the crew with their weapons, or tying up their newly taken prisoners. She gasped as one crew member was knocked to the deck by a cudgel’s blow, his face unrecognizable in this light and from this distance. She hoped it wasn’t Crathis, but there was no way to tell.
“They’re restraining the crew.” Indy growled low. “Hopefully that means they’ll only be robbed or ransomed, and not killed.”
“We’ve got to do something!” Anna fought to keep her voice at a whisper.
“What would you suggest?” Indy looked back at her. “There must be dozens of them, when you count the second longboat.” She stared out at the beached merchant ship again. “They knew what they were doing. A distraction from the shore, then two boats close in on them.”
“I could sneak back down there, sink those pirate boats.” Anna struggled to think of something useful. “I didn’t think of it before, but my shield could pull their planks apart and let the water in.”
“Then we’re facing forty angry pirates on land,” Indy said. “We could use our shields to snip off their heads like dandelions, or break their limbs, at least for a few minutes until they run out of energy. But short of that, what options do we really have?”
Anna shook her head, sickened by the thought. “But—”
“And what about the rest of our party, at our campsite back across the road?” Indy sounded weary now. “If we attack these raiders and fail, and have to run away, we might lead them right to Timais and Nephele and the others. Even that idiot who keeps eyeballing me when he thinks I’m not looking.” She sighed, eyes gleaming in the dim light. “We’re not infallible, or invulnerable. Remember what happened last time we used force on someone?” She looked down. “Maybe it’s better for everyone if we don’t get any more involved.”
“Not for everyone.” Anna’s mouth twitched into a pained expression. “What happens to Crathis and the rest?”
“The same thing that would’ve happened if we’d never come here.” Indy’s voice softened. “We can’t fix everything that’s wrong about this world. We’re already doing everything we can, with the school and everything else. If we push it too far…”
“We could make things even worse. Again.” Anna mastered herself, slowly. “You’re right.” She looked away from the beach. “I just hate it.”
“I do too,” Indy said. “But let’s get out of here. Before we change our minds.”
67
They trudged back to camp, dripping and exhausted. Their drone, critically low on power after all the action, had to ground itself and wait for the next day’s sunlight. But there was no hue and cry from behind them, and after a tense half hour or so, they seemed to have escaped without pursuit.
Timais, Nephele, and the rest had long since finished dinner, so Anna and Indy simply settled down with them to sleep, after reassuring everyone that Anna’s wet clothes and Indy’s damp fur were just the result of a late-afternoon swim at the beach. They left collar and phone on watch, with alarms set as usual. But their sleep was disturbed only by uneasy dreams of what they’d witnessed, and by their guilt over leaving the merchants to face whatever fate the pirates had planned for them.
The next morning dawned another fine Greek summer day.
Anna’s first thought was to check on the merchants, but their drone wouldn’t have enough power to fly again for hours yet. She twisted uncomfortably in her clothes, trying to break up the crust of salt that had dried into them the night before, but it didn’t help much.
After a quick breakfast the party set out, rejoining the road and heading south. They took their time, since the meeting in Corinth wasn’t due to start until tomorrow. Anna was fine with their slow pace, since the hike soon revealed bruises and stiffness developing after their misadventure of the previous day.
Around noon they came to the Diolkos, a four-mile-long stone trackway cutting all the way across the isthmus from west coast to east. It was crowded with wagons full of trade goods, and even a small ship being hauled overland to avoid sailing south around the Peloponnesos. To their left where the trackway met the sea a busy port bustled, loading and unloading cargo from ships similar to the one that had hosted them the afternoon before.
The drone just finished recharging enough to go and check. Indy spoke in answer to Anna’s unasked question. And the beach was empty. No ship, no merchants, and no pirates. The drone doesn’t see them down there at the port, either. Indy paused, an uneasy silence. With any luck, the pirates just robbed the crew, then set them free to go back to their village. They probably took the ship off somewhere else to transfer the cargo.
“We did the right thing.” Anna looked down. “The smart thing.”
“I hope so.” Indy turned away from the port and Anna fell in beside her, following the rest of their party. The last part of their journey passed slowly, silently putting one foot in front of the other, since neither of them felt much like talking. Finally, that evening, they pitched camp outside the city of Corinth, and fell asleep warm under the stars.
Late that night, Anna stirred to wakefulness and looked up at the wide, dark sky. Beside her, Indy’s ears twitched to the sounds of the ocean a mile distant.
It wouldn’t have done anyone any good for us to get ourselves killed. Anna squeezed her eyes firmly shut again. Right?
There was no answer.
68
The next morning, Anna and Indy stood outside an open-air theater in Corinth, ready to hear the Greek alliance’s plan to repel the massive Persian invasion.
Corinth was a coastal city, built at the narrow neck of land that connected central Greece to the large almost-island of the Peloponnesos to the south. The early-morning sun shone white from the arcs of stone benches rising in front of the circular stage. The mountainous bulk of the Acrocorinth loomed half a mile further inland, a peak of monolithic rock encircled by walls and crowned by temples, its sides girdled by groves of scrubby oak. And everywhere in the packed theater there was an enormous hubbub as hundreds of delegates to the congress of Greek city-states engaged in last-minute politicking before taking their seats.
I hope this trip is worth it, Indy said over their link. The two of them were well outside the theater, but they could hear every word clearly, thanks to the tiny flea-drone that Anna had planted on Timais’ clothing earlier. It sounded like a good way to get some first-hand information about what was going on. But I didn’t realize it’d be so dangerous just to get here.
You couldn’t have known, Anna said. And I’m glad you’d caught that Neleos’ father is one of Lebadeia’s delegates to that Boeotian League thing. Anna craned her neck, trying to see the stage better. Apparently that gets you into this congress too? Surprising that even little Lebadeia has a dozen people here.
This is much bigger than Boeotia. Indy tried not to look around too obviously. There are representatives here from all over Greece. Though I did overhear someone say that the Theban delegation is unusually small. Her mental voice turned dry. People seem to think they’re secretly siding with the Persians.
Can’t blame them for thinking it. I’m not the biggest fan of Thebes myself, what with Nicon and his gang. And I’ve never even been there. Anna looked around their camp, reduced in size now that Timais and their other voting delegates had entered the theater. Nephele was sorting through the supplies the party had brought along, and she beckoned Anna over. Anna discreetly turned down the audio of the meeting as she approached, Indy a pace behind her.
Nephele greeted them with a smile. “I still don’t know why you two volunteered to come all the way here for this. Political meetings are infamously tedious.” She frowned. “Even when there’s so much at stake, and so little time to decide.”
“We could hardly just sit at home waiting to hear the outcome,” Indy said. “History is being made here that will affect us all, for better or worse.”
Nephele laughed. “I think you’ll find that history-making is less exciting on an empty stomach. Would the two of you mind going to the market to get us some fresh food before it’s stripped bare?” She indicated the field around them, which was crowded with the retinues of all the other delegates from all over Greece. “Fresh greens, bread, whatever seafood looks good, enough for say, twelve people. We can buy more travel food before we leave, but I’d like to eat something fresh at least once, after coming all this way.”
“Sure, not a problem.” Anna and Indy had already sampled fresh food with the ill-fated traders of Krommyon two days before, but they hadn’t told the story to Nephele and Timais, so she tried not to let her expression show anything that would require explanation.
“I’ll see if they have any frog legs, while we’re there.” Indy smacked her lips enthusiastically. “It smells like a good-sized town, so it should have a nice market.” She paused as a thought struck her. “Wait. Are there such things as saltwater frogs?”
“Don’t worry, we’ll bring back more than just frog legs,” Anna said to Nephele with amused reassurance.
“Go on then.” Nephele turned back to the group’s haphazard pile of bags. “We should be set up to cook by the time you get back.”
Anna and Indy walked purposefully toward the center of Corinth, Anna not bothering to hide her rubbernecking since there were so many others here from out of town.
I’ve asked our nets to summarize the meeting, Indy said over their link. In case something interesting happens while we shop.
The delegates are all talking at once. Alixa’s impersonal voice began a running commentary. Summary will begin once a trend is detected.
Huh. Anna smirked to herself. Maybe it’s less boring this way anyway.
Politics seems to be the same in any time period. Indy stopped and peered down the street. A lot of interminable yapping. She sniffed the air carefully, waving her head from side to side. This way! She set off again, leading them deeper into the city.
They eventually emerged into the market and hurried up and down the aisles, trying to finish their mission as quickly as possible. Occasionally Alixa would say something like, Unidentified delegate from Coroneia failed to negotiate better seating, but mostly it sounded like nothing was happening yet.
They collected a good quantity of fresh vegetables, cucumbers and artichoke among them. They also found barley bread, end-of-season asparagus, and some freshly netted red mullet which they wrapped in a cloth Nephele had given them, once it passed Indy’s smell test.
One final addition was some kind of fish sauce called garos by the locals, which was pungent enough that even Anna’s nose could pick it out from yards away. By the time both their packs were filled, their stomachs were grumbling, so they returned to the market’s edge for Indy’s favorite treat.
Mmm, fennel-flavored. The giant canine took a dainty bite from one of the two skewers of frog legs Anna held for her. These coastal Greeks seem to know a thing or two. And there’s wilted beet greens between the pieces!
Anna had opted for her usual vegetable skewers, and chewed contentedly as they walked back out toward the theater. You and your frog legs. Good thing Lebadeia’s near a giant lake, or I’d never hear the end of it. She grinned as Indy took another bite from the frog leg skewer without deigning to comment. The sun was shining overhead, and even with the threat of the Persians in the air, it was still a beautiful early-summer morning.
Anna’s smile faded into a thoughtful frown. Hey, so… I know we’d kind of decided to try to avoid getting too involved in things. To make sure we don’t mess them up worse. But… She stopped, unsure of herself.
Indy looked at her friend, sympathy in her eyes. I know that was hard on you, back at Krommyon. She walked along, swallowing the last of her bite. But it wouldn’t have been worth the risk, us charging into a situation like that with no preparation and no backup.
You’re right. Anna nodded slowly, convinced but not agreeing. But maybe we could come up with a plan ahead of time, to keep us out of danger? Anna held the frog leg skewers out to Indy again. Like, what if we could just make the Persian army sick, somehow? Like really bad diarrhea or something, where they couldn’t fight? Eventually they’d have to give up and leave, right? And we’d just be watching from home.
Indy looked thoughtful as she took another bite. Well, we weren’t lucky enough to get any textbooks on ancient military history from your dad’s data dump. She chewed and swallowed as she spoke through the collar. But my impression was that in the old days, disease killed more soldiers than the enemy did. So we’d have to hit them with something pretty deadly, or it wouldn’t be any worse than what they already live with. She gave Anna a guarded look. That almost puts us back into biological weapons territory.
Crap. Anna took another bite from her vegetable skewer. You’re probably right. She chewed distractedly. Let me think about this some more.
Remember, this invasion is the Persians’ and Greeks’ fault, not ours. Indy took the last bit of frog leg from the skewer and crunched it down. This situation sounds like it’s been developing for decades. She tossed her head. There may just be nothing we can do.
They walked the rest of the way in companionable silence. Once back at the Lebadeian camp they unloaded the food, gratefully handing off the cooking responsibility to Nephele and the others. Then they settled down in their own corner to listen to the meeting again as they watched the stage from a distance.
Up to this point, the delegates had mainly discussed the previous congress, and the happenings between then and now. A few months ago, the Greek allies had sent a force of ten thousand or so by ship to somewhere up north called the Vale of Tempe to try to intercept Xerxes’ army. They’d been warned away by Alexander, king of Macedon, who basically told them the Persian army would squash them flat, since it outnumbered them and could come at them from two sides. Of course, this was the same Alexander who was supplying the Persians as they rolled through his land, so who knew which side he was really on?
The Greek army hadn’t even seen a Persian yet at this point, but there was still some news to report. As Anna and Indy tuned back in, a grizzled representative from Sparta mounted the stage to speak. His time limit was measured by a jug of water on a squat pedestal, which slowly drained through a tiny spout into a lower jug.
Spartan delegate rhetorically reminds the congress that the Spartan queen Gorgo learned of the Persian invasion via encrypted communications from an informant in the Persian court, and says he has fresh news, Alixa said coolly over their link.
Oops. Anna spoke quickly via her earring. Alixa, please switch off summary mode.
“To those who would stand aside from this fight, or who think to placate the barbarians with money, consider my few words well.” They couldn’t see the Spartan delegate clearly at this distance, but to Anna it looked like he raked the assembled congress with his eyes. “We have already learned much that is bizarre and dismaying about our would-be conquerors. Now, from Sparta’s own spies, we add another piece of infamy. The Persian emperor’s delusions of godhood are such that he ordered the sea itself whipped after his first bridge across the Hellespont was blown away in a storm.” This was met by general laughter, though it sounded more like a mixture of nerves and bravado than true amusement. The Spartan delegate waited for it to subside before resuming.
“And what is more! He is so hateful, even to his own subjects, that after the vastly rich Pythius of Lydia donated his entire fortune to aid Xerxes’ army as they passed through—more than four million gold staters!—Xerxes would not even agree to spare the man’s eldest son from military service to carry on his line.” He paused dramatically. “Instead, Xerxes ordered Pythius’ son split bodily in half, and he marched the entire Persian army between the pieces!”
A roar of voices arose, asking questions and shouting out insults to the Persians. The Spartan delegate waited for the noise to die down again. “So, do not think that Xerxes is merely another ruler, on whose mercy you might rely. He is a monster, and if allowed into Greece he will destroy us all!” He slapped the still-emptying water jug beside him. “You can pour out the rest! That’s all I have to say, and it should be more than enough.” He stood aside, and the chairman again took the stage.
The debate that followed was tortuous and frequently interrupted, so Anna turned Alixa’s summary mode back on to make sense of it. Over the next hours, she and Indy heard expressions of outrage from the participants, estimates of the size of the Persian army and navy, rumors that the Persians had lost a great number of ships in a storm, and a motion from the Thebans that Athens had provoked Persia by encouraging the Ionian colonies to revolt, and so should be left to face the consequences alone. This last was shouted down, and the Theban delegation eventually withdrew the motion.
