Back to Part 026 – Forward to Part 028

Two and a half years before

The Rose left port of Hin on the western coast of Lingguo, the weight of its cargo pushing the boat lower in the water. All twenty one of her crew moved about the boat, securing crates in the cargo bay they hadn’t had time to fasten down before they shoved off. In the kitchen, the chef had already started on dinner, and his sou-chef plating the first course. On the bridge, navigation, free of the harbor pilot, plotted the quickest course back to the COS, while the helm prepared a report for the captain of their upcoming voyage.

In the guest quarters, the crew settled in their passengers, who had left their suitcases in their staterooms, and now were mingling under the false-sunset of the dome. The lights on the tables around them provided the rest of their light, while the crew served drinks and set the guest table for dinner.

Logan found Cait just as she had started to prepare her office for sleep. The papers on her desk had been arranged into neat, separate stacks, only a few luxuriating in the In Box. What had been sorted, Logan knew, had been filed away in Cait’s filing cabinets. Her pens had even been lined up neatly at the top of her desk, ready to be used in the morning. Cait was unplugging the electric kettle as Logan stepped in to the office.

“Hello, dear,” Cait said, her ears lowering a little. “What brings you up here?”

“Just wanted to report in,” Logan said, waiting just inside the office door. Cait nodded.

“We have quite the haul this time. This may be a ship record,” she said. “Why are you actually here?”

Logan faltered, and then straightened up. “I have something,” Logan said.

“Oh?” Cait looked behind Logan, who held her hands behind her back. “Is it here?”

“Well, no. But it’s big!”

“Big like the Rose big?”

“Big like we’ll never have to work again big.”

Cait wrapped the kettle’s cord around its base. She set it back on top of the filing cabinets, her smile fading. “Go on.”

“I met a group while we were in Hin, and they’ve been talking about something that, if they can find it, will be worth more money than we have ever seen.”

Cait placed a hand on her hip. “Really? Treasure-hunting? How old are you, dear?”

“It sounds like a sure thing,” Logan said. “They have a few strong leads. With a little detective work, we could be part of this.”

“And in the meantime, we just give up our work?”

“I guess we’d have to, yeah,” Logan said. She stepped forward, holding on to Cait’s arm. “At least hear them out.”

“I will hear you out,” Cait said, sliding an arm around Logan’s shoulders. “What is this thing they aim to find?”

“They don’t know. They think it’s an old weapon, from a lost civilization. They think maybe it’s where Ebe himself had been imprisoned.”

“But they are not sure.”

Logan dropped her eyes. “No. But they have a whole lot of research about it. Lots of books. Like, on every surface. So many books.”

“And they are not sure of where it is,” Cait said, her ears very slowly leveling out.

“You should have seen the books, Cait!”

“I think,” Cait said, “that this would be a bad investment of our time.”

Logan let go of Cait’s arm, and Cait stepped into her quarters. She took off her COS coat and hung it neatly on a hanger. “Remind me,” she said, if not to Logan, than herself, “that I need a dry cleaners when we land again.”

“Eaton thinks this is a sure thing,” Logan said, leaning against Cait’s desk.

Cait came back out of her quarters, in a tank top that bared her arms and shoulders. Without her coat, Cait was slender, with a hint of a tummy snuggled up under her top. Logan was once again reminded of what years of training at Archertown got Cait. “Eaton? Eaton Fyfe?”*

“Yes?” Logan said, shrinking a little.

Cait suddenly seemed much bigger. “We do not associate with pirates. Under no circumstances do I want to hear that name on this boat again.”

“Cait,” Logan started, “he’s not that bad.”

“He’s part of the decline of civilization, and that has no place on the Rose.”

“He’s on to something really big,” Logan pleaded.

“I do not care. We have no room for him or his ideas on board the Rose. As your captain, I will not allow further contact.”

“What about my friend? What does my friend think?” Logan asked.

Cait grabbed Logan by her shoulder and with gentle force, pushed her out on to the bridge. “As far as I am concerned, this conversation is over. Good night, Logan.” Cait closed the door behind her.

Tre watched from the helm’s seat. Navigation had left early, or had stepped off for a bathroom break, and now Tre sat in the glow of the helm, eyeing Logan.

“I don’t want to hear it,” Logan said to Tre. She stomped off the bridge, fuming. She got down to the crew quarters before her mind caught up with her momentum, and she turned around, back up to the bridge.

Tre had resumed his duties, checking the monitors pulled up around him. Logan sat down in the navigator’s chair.

“I’m willing to bet you heard all of that,” she said to Tre. He eyed Logan, but kept his gaze on the weather radar.

“Do you want in?”

Tre didn’t move.

“There’s more on the other side of that. Glory, riches,” Logan said. “More than this existence. No more cramped bunks, no more sharing space with twenty other people. You can go where you want, when ever you want.”

Tre turned to Logan, exhaling hard and short through his nose. He stared into Logan’s eyes until she turned away.

“Fine,” she said. “I thought I’d try. Let me know when you change your mind.” She got up, shoulders back, and strode down into the crew quarters. As she entered, a hand named Trenz looked up from his cleaning.

“Hello,” Logan said. “You got a minute to talk business?”

—-

This is what the index of the Æncyclopedia Latania says about Eaton Fyfe:

Fyfe, Eaton (3943-?)
ALSO SEE:

• disappearance;
• Early life in Lat;
• entrepreneur;
• pirate connections, alleged;
• pirate connections, confirmed;

[g]

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Back to Part 026 – Forward to Part 028

Back to Part 024 Notes – Forward to Part 026 Notes

I may have mentioned this before, but the New Archer Revolutionaries are old characters of mine. I have a habit of taking out of place characters from their old, unused series and placing them into a new environment. Xiphos came from the NAR, or at least their small group of friends. I had transplanted her when I started to feel the NAR’s story would never get told. And then I merged their universes, and so there we go.

We’ll talk about them more later.

(I doodled this out a while back. I like the way Manni came out a lot).

Logan’s being kind of a jerk here, and we should touch on that. Part of it is that Logan views, at this point, the Rose as partially her ship. So a stowaway is a slap in the face to her. Also, it’s extremely illegal. Whether or not it’s legal to throw the stowaway off the boat while sailing is something else.

Cait, of course, takes a much more civilized approach.

And Tre, of course, being the protector he feels he has to be, even with a girl that’s on board illegally. What a sweetie.

So, as always, what did I miss? Any questions and comments you have are always welcome.

[g]

PSST! If you’ve been enjoying the series so far, please stop by and drop me a vote on top web fiction. You may do so with this link. Thanks! It’s much appreciated.

Back to Part 024 Notes – Forward to Part 026 Notes

Back to Part 017 Notes – Forward to Act 2 Prologue

This week is going to be a cop-out. I don’t have anything to say that doesn’t feel glib, given what just happened. I’d be happy to take any questions you have, but let me say this: If the questions is, “Why?”, my answer will be, “there is a reason, but I can’t tell you.” Other than that, let’s call this post an open thread.

I don’t like what happened either, and I dreaded posting this section. I can’t apologize, because I made it happen, and it had to. And I’m actually mourning.

So.

Yeah.

[g]

Back to Part 017 Notes – Forward to Act 2 Prologue

Back to Part 017 – Forward to Act 2 Prologue

“You heard something?” Nina stepped into the cargo bay, pulling Xiphos by the hand behind her. “And so you come find me, who’s smaller than you?”

“Yes,” Xiphos said. She swung her head around, scanning the corners of the cargo bay.

A few small lights glowed in the emptiness of the bay, casting more shadows than they eliminated.

“There’s nothing here,” Nina said, striding further into the bay, towing Xiphos in with her. Xiphos did another sweep with her eyes, her ears flicking around in every direction. She eyed the hatch back up to the crew quarters.

“What’s gotten in to you lately?” Nina turned around and pulled Xiphos to her. Xiphos recoiled from Nina’s suddenness, but relaxed when Nina draped her wrists over Xiphos’s shoulders.

“Whaddoyoumean?” Xiphos’s ears dropped.

“I mean,” Nina said, reaching up to play with one of Xiphos’s ears, “you’re panicky lately. Skittery and all that. And what’s this about you thinking I hate you?”

“It’s not…” The cat struggled, and then faltered her words. She pulled her mouth shut tight, keeping her eyes steady on the corners of the room.

“I love you,” Nina said, her voice even, her smile fading away. “Okay?”

Xiphos nodded. A tear welled in the corner of her eyes. Nina brushed it away, and pulled Xiphos into a long hug.

“What’s gotten in to you?”

Xiphos bit her lip. “Yesterday, on the radar-”

A box in the bay tumbled to the floor, teetering on its side before settling. Xiphos shrieked and jumped back, the fur on her neck bristling. She put Nina between herself and the box, holding on to Nina’s shoulders. Nina watched the box, keeping still as the air in the room cleared.

A shadow darted back into the darkened corners of the cargo bay. Nina took off after it. “Hey!” She called. She rounded a corner, catching a glimpse disappearing behind a set of boxes. Nina stopped at the edge of the shadows. She could see the tail again, and again it quickly slipped out of sight. Except, this time there as no place to go. She put her hands on her hips and, stifling a smile said, “Toby.”

There was shuffling around behind the crates. Very slowly, Toby stuck his head out around the edge, watching Nina. His ears flattened against his head.

Nina bit her tongue, holding the laugh back in her muzzle. “Toby, come out here.”

Toby slinked out to Nina, dropping his eyes to her feet.

“Did you knock over the box?”

“I didn’t mean to!” Toby held his hands out in front of himself. “I-”

There was a scream, an angry, concentrated scream, and Toby snapped back off his feet, falling head over heals, and tumbling to a stop in the corner. In his place, Xiphos panted, trying to catch her breath again. She held her hand, flexing it open and closed. She surveyed her work, and then looked up at Nina.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Nina ran to help Toby up.

“He looked bigger in the shadows.” Xiphos dropped her eyes.

Nina sat Toby up. “Come on,” she said, “let’s get Billy to take a look at you.” She helped him to stand, and started to lead him to the stairs. Xiphos followed close behind at first, and then decided it’d be best to help Toby, too.

“What were you doing, Toby?” Nina adjusted her hold on him.

“It’s quiet here,” Toby said, his voice shaky. He looked around, trying to catch his bearing back. “I didn’t mean to knock over the box, I swear!”

“Shhh,” Nina said. “It’s not that big of a deal. I’m sure it wasn’t anything important.”

“It’s just that, when I got here, you were… you know, with Xiphos, and I didn’t want to bother you, I just wanted to sit down somewhere, and I kinda pushed the crate off when I sat down-”

“Stop,” Xiphos said. Nina looked up at her, narrowing her eyes.

“Did you say,” Xiphos continued, “you got here after we did?”

“Yes?” Toby said.

Xiphos stopped walking. Nina stopped a few paces out, and steered Toby around to face her.

“I didn’t hear you,” Xiphos said, her eyes getting wider. “I heard people here, I’m sure of it. But not Toby.”

Nina blinked. “Then who was it-?”

The hatch to the engine room slid open, and Tami the Traveler stepped out, holding a wrench in her hand. She was covered in engine grease, and her fur frizzed from the heat.

The three of them, Nina, Toby and Xiphos, froze. They hadn’t been paying attention; they would have noticed the engines had gone silent if they had been paying attention. Now they could hear it, or the lack of it, and they were standing in the audience of the cause.

“Tami?” Toby said, holding the spot on his head where Xiphos had hit him.

“Oh,” she said, looking over all of them. “Hi, kids.”

“What’s going on?” Xiphos said, her ears leveled out. She slowly inched towards the stairwell.

Tami shifted her weight back and forth on her feet. “Look,” she said. “Sorry.”

“Sorry?” Nina asked.

Tami lunged for Xiphos, and struck her across the head with the wrench. Xiphos went down with a yelp, holding her head.

Nina made a break for the stairwell, pulling Toby with her. Tami went after them for a few steps, and then took off into the cargo bay. Next to the stairwell hatch was mounted a big red button on a big yellow box. Nina pounded her fist on it. “Stay here!” She said to Toby, and pushed him against the wall.

The Rose erupted with the mechanical wail of an alert. A calm, assuring woman informed the crew that “an alert has been sounded in the cargo bay.” She repeated in two other languages.

Footsteps pounded down the stairs, and Toby peeked around the corner. Patel jumped the last section of stairs, and bounded through the hatch. He followed the same path as Tami, curving into the depths of the cargo bay.

“Over here!” Tami shouted. A crate splintered open somewhere in the darkness. Nina ran back to Xiphos, sliding to a stop next to her.

Tami and Patel stepped back out from the shadows. Nina stood, facing them. She clenched her fists shut, and started towards them. Toby cried out a panicked, wordless shout. Xiphos feebly lifted her head, blood covering her face. “Nina, don’t!” She tried to stand, and fell again.

The Travelers stopped, keeping some space in between them and Nina. Tami rolled what looked like a parchment up, and slid it into a tube. Patel glanced over at her, and then back at Nina. He locked eyes with her. He stepped forward. Nina didn’t budge. Tami slung the tube over her shoulder and broke into a run at Nina. Patel followed.

“Out of the way, girl!” Patel shouted. Nina took a step forward. Patel swung his fist at her, catching her neck and lifting her off her feet. His free hand guided a knife between her ribs, into her chest. He dropped her, and made a break for the stair well on the far wall.

Xiphos screamed. She struggled to her feet, stumbling into a run. Toby froze against the wall. Heavy footsteps echoed in the stair well. Tre sprinted into the cargo bay. Xiphos pointed up the other stairwell. Tre growled and, picking up speed, climbed the stairs.

Xiphos knelt over Nina. She pushed down hard on Nina’s wound. Nina whimpered against the pain, and Xiphos spoke down to her, tears running down her cheeks. Toby couldn’t hear what either was saying. He waited for Billy. Billy would fix this. Toby looked back up at the button, and next to it was an intercom. He grabbed it and fumbled it on.

“Hurry,” he said. “Nina’s hurt.” His voice echoed through out the Rose.

Billy reached the bottom just as Toby finished, his medical bag in hand. He was at her side immediately. Xiphos opened the bag and began handing Billy tools. They worked almost silently. Xiphos only spoke when Nina cried out. She leaned down and kissed Nina on the cheek. Toby was sure he heard Xiphos say, “you’ll be okay… please…”

Nina’s breathing became shallow. She grabbed Xiphos’s arm, and Xiphos stroked her ears back. Billy was doing his best to try to stop the bleeding, his and Xiphos’s hands covered in Nina’s blood. He pushed down on the wound, just as Xiphos had done, and Nina cried out again. Her voice was weaker now, her breathing ragged. Cait hit the bottom last, and joined the group. She carried a gun, and Xiphos pointed her to the far stairwell. Cait began to run towards the stairs, just as Tre descended. His hands covered in blood, but he had no Travelers with him.

Toby slid down the wall, covering his head with his hands. Nina whimpered again, weaker still. Billy called for a shot of anesthetic. Nina grew quieter, her breathing still ragged. Billy called for a scalpel. Xiphos pulled up Nina’s shirt, exposing the wound. Toby picked up “internal bleeding” from Billy. They would operate. Cait made herself available. Billy barked orders to Xiphos, to Tre. Nina’s heart rate became erratic, and Billy moved to chest compressions. When Xiphos finally lost her cool, Cait stepped in to relieve her. Nina held tight to Xiphos’s hand. Xiphos kissed it as Billy tried to stabilize her heart.

Nina’s hand slipped out of Xiphos’s.

Nina died.

[g]

Back to Part 017 – Forward to Part 2 Prologue

Back to Part 016 Notes – Forward to Part 018 Notes

So, Toby tries to run again, and again, Cait sends Nina out to bring him back. It’s because she’s the nicest. Also, because she’s probably the most stable on the boat. Nina has her life together, as simple as it seems. At least, she’s getting what she wants out of life.

I think it is important to note that Toby is being brave enough to hop on to not one but two random boats, interpret signs he doesn’t understand, and just all out go for it. Despite how nice (minus Xiphos) everyone is to him, he just wants to go home, back to his bed, back to his room. I think we can all understand that.

It’s been hinted at a little bit, but quillsandzebras called it about two months ago: Toby would make a great chef. For Cait, it’s a matter of trust. She wants to show him that she trusts him, and to do that, she puts him in charge of one of the most important aspects of the ship: the food. Every day, Toby will touch most everything the crew eats, and Cait has more or less said to him “I trust you will not poison us and then run away.”

And for Milly, another Manni reference. I can’t go too deep into who Manni is, but Milly knows. Like everything else, we’ll get there. I bring these things up for a reason, you know.

Anything I missed? As always, your questions and comments are absolutely welcome.

[g]

Back to Part 016 Notes – Forward to Part 018 Notes

Back to Part 016 – Forward to Part 018

The windows of the ferry were sticky with condensation, and Andrewston passed outside as a silent gray blob, nullifying any of the pleasure Toby could have received from the sight. Still, it was better than nothing. More importantly, it was on the way back home. Toby closed his eyes and listened to the hum of the boat, and thought about the next step in his plan. The ferry terminal would have been hard enough to find in the city of Andrewston, but Standard Lat made everything worse. If it hadn’t been for the little pictorial signs and a few eager-to-help Islanders, he’d never have gotten here.

He transferred at another, larger terminal, set out on its own island. The shock of the humid air hit him hard, and his fur frizzed a little. The terminal was laid out in a big ring, with docks fanning out every 20 feet or so. The larger boats were on one side, the smaller charters on the other. Toby located the departure boards, and tried to decipher the text in front of him. He found a gate that looked like it said “New Haven,” and decided it was close enough. A woman behind the counter announced the boat would be leaving in five minutes, and Toby scrambled to get inside. He sat down in a seat against the window, closed his eyes, and waited for the boat to leave. After a moment, the boat sealed itself, and puttered off to the mouth of the harbor.

Toby did the calculations in his head. At this rate, a nonstop trip like this would take him four days or so to get back to Lat, and then a day train ride across the continent, and then another…

Toby took a moment to look around. He had been so caught up in escaping, he hadn’t realized he was the only one aboard. The cabin was dark, only a few small lights in the ceiling to reveal the inside. There were maybe 20 seats total, arranged in rows across the wide hull. In the back were a few lavatories. There were a few small portals along the side, which meant, more than likely, this was a sub.

But there were no people. Toby clutched the small bag the Captain had given to him a few days before, tracing his eyes around the interior of the cabin.

The intercom crackled. “This is almost mean,” the voice said. Toby recognized it at once. He sank down in his seat, his ears flattening out.

“Toby,” the voice said, “you may as well come up to the helm.”

Toby sat for a moment, his stomach wrapped around itself, and folded his arms across his chest. Outside the boat, Coupland Island passed by. They rounded Dagmar Point, and as the point slid away, Toby could make out the Rose in the distance. He sighed, pulled his legs up to his chest, and hugged them.

Nina opened the door to the helm. She watched him for a moment before she decided to approach. She sat down next to him, but didn’t say anything, not at first. She followed his gaze out the portal, watching the Rose amble across their field of view.

“Aunt Cait knew you were going to run away again,” Nina said, still watching out the portal. “Don’t ask me how she knows all of this. She’s very intuitive about people.” She waited for a response, but didn’t get anything from Toby.

“I know it sounds weird, but we need you to go along with all of this. I know you barely know us, and we barely know you, but we’re trying to help. We actually do care about you. Xiphos, too, but she’d never say so. Well, I suppose she kind of did…”

“I want to go home,” Toby said, each word forced out, just above a whisper.

“I know.” Nina patted his shoulder. “We’re working on it. Everything’s just really complicated right now. And please realise, it’s us or the Firebrand.”

Toby’s eyes widened. “Is that a threat?”

“NO NO NO!” Nina held her hands out in front of her. “You’re safe with us, though. You’re outside their national boundary with us. As soon as you set foot on Lat, they can take you and send you right back.”

Toby narrowed his eyes, and rolled his head back to the portal.

Nina sighed. “I know. Hug?”

Toby didn’t budge. Nina very carefully put her arms around him, pulling her hug tighter. Toby didn’t accept, but didn’t try to push her away, either. She squeezed. “Tacit approval,” she said, a little sunnier than before. “That’s the best I could hope for.”

—-

Cait didn’t seemed fazed by Toby’s begrudged return. She looked at him, and with a hint of a smile said, “welcome back, Mister Shaw. I have a job for you.” Within a span of a moment, Cait handed Toby over to Billy in the kitchen.

That night, on their way to Peck Harbor, the crew, along with the Travelers, gathered around the table in the crew quarters. Xiphos even made her way down from the helm for a little bit to join in. The table was spread with simple dishes: a beautiful pot roast that was falling apart amid a sea of vegetables, a still-hot loaf of bread, and a large bowl of salad. A couple wines had been placed in the center of the table, and two pots of tea steamed away on either side.

Cait sat at the head of the table and, looking entirely pleased, said to Billy, “you’ve outdone yourself this time.” The crew returned an excited, though hungrily distracted agreement.

Billy opened his hands. “I… can’t take the credit for this.”

“Is that right?” Cait said.

“I started to prepare everything, and Tobias just sort of took over.”

The crew at once shifted its attention to Toby, who sank in his seat under the weight of their gaze. He laughed nervously.

“You did all of this, dear?” Cait propped her head up with her hand.

“Yes?” Toby said, squeaking out his answer.

“Huh,” Xiphos said, reaching out to the bread. She tore a hunk off. “I was thinking how entirely edible all of this looked. That would explain it.” She winked at Billy and stuck out her tongue. Billy threw his napkin at her, and she giggled wildly, deflecting it away.

The crew started to pass the food around. They all talked excitedly as they took their fill and, as they started eating, the sound in the room dropped away. Toby tried not to smile as he watched the crew stare in disbelief at their meal, processing the bite they had all just taken.

“…Wow,” Tami said at last, her voice just above a whisper. And then everyone else, all chattering away excitedly. Billy even patted Toby on the back. Cait turned to Toby.

“Tell me,” Cait said, “given what’s in the cooler right now, what would you make for dinner tomorrow night?”

“Roasted duck with a marmalade sauce, steamed vegetables, and potatoes roasted in olive oil.” He answered with no thought, and realized he had blurted all of that out. He added, “if I have time.”

“And if you do not have the time?”

“Grilled salmon with stir fried asparagus on brown rice.” He peeked out of the corner of his eye, watching for approval. The crew stared at him, astonished.

Cait, still looking pleased, said, “I do believe we have found a new chef. Billy, I am afraid you will have to go back to being a professionally trained doctor.”

“Demotion accepted,” Billy said.

“Where does all that come from?” Patel asked.

“My parents own a restaurant in the Red River Valley,” Toby said. “When I didn’t have school, I’d go and they’d teach me how to cook whatever was on the menu. Most of our customers didn’t know I was cooking their meals. After a while, I started coming up with my own dishes, and they usually let me have one or two items on the menu.”

“That’s brilliant,” Nina said.

“It is,” Cait said.

Toby smiled again, dropping his eyes to his plate. He let his headfur fall in front of his face, and hid. “Thanks,” he said.

Toby and Billy cleared the table after dinner wound down, and set about washing the dishes. The Travelers cleaned out the crew area, and then sat down at the shah board. Cait ran through her evening checklist, and when everything had been completed, she joined the rest of the crew. The Travelers, it seemed, had been on a couple of other boats together, through the years, and were telling stories about living in Lingguo.

“It’s such a closed country,” Tami said, “they don’t know anything about the outside world.”

“We lied to them all the time,” Patel said.

“They think all Islanders have Krakken for pets.”

“Seriously?” Nina sat forward, absorbing everything the Travelers said.

Tami grinned wide. “No joke. So we told them we raised tame Krakken and fed them birds and small models of boats.”

Billy and Nina laughed. Tre watched on from a little further back, smiling, but he kept his distance.

Xiphos played with her hands, and then, not looking at any of the other people at the table, said, “When I was in New Archer, Fink and Manni had this habit of-”

“Okay, I’m going to stop you right there,” Patel said, holding up his hand. “There’s a couple of things wrong with this story. Do you actually mean to imply that you were friends with Manni. THE Manni?”

“Yes,” Xiphos said. “So anyway, they would-”

“Okay, but this is what I mean,” Patel continued. “You, sitting there, are trying to tell me you hung out with, on a fairly regular basis, enough that you are comfortable talking about her she was Billy or Tre, Manni, the revolutionary from New Archer.”

Xiphos ears flattened out. Nina slid Xiphos a quick peek, and patted her arm.

“Yes,” Xiphos said, her voice dropping.

Patel tilted his head. “That’s just such a weird claim to make. Next you’ll tell me you ran around at night with Crash.”

Xiphos pushed her chair back and started back towards the bridge, mumbling to herself “…got work to do…” Nina chased after her. Tami elbowed Patel in the ribs, her ears back in the striking position. “Dude…” she said.

“Well,” Cait said. She stood and adjusted her coat. “I think that might be the sound of the end of dinner. Take until the next bell, and then finish your evening chores, please.”

The Travelers left together, taking a mop and a bucket between them. Tami whisper to Patel, her words soft hisses that floated down the stairs. Toby wandered back to the sink to finish the rest of the dishes.

“That’s a shame,” Billy said. “I have this great story from when I was stationed in Beiland, back when it was still a Lat Crown Possession. There were these kids, and they had just pulled this fish out of the bay, and the bay was so polluted that they didn’t want to eat it, so they wanted to trade it for something we had. Well, I remembered the captain was coming in-”

Cait sighed. She patted Billy on the shoulder. “I fear it will have to wait for another time. In the mean time, let’s meditate on how wonderful it is to not have to be a teenager again.”

“Oh gods, yes,” Billy said. He straightened the chairs around the shah board. When Nina came down the steps from the bridge, he watched her, and then said, “I am grateful it was a passing phase.”

“What?” Nina said.

Billy shook his head. “Nothing. Just reminiscing.” He slid his hands into his pockets and strolled back upstairs, to the infirmary.

Nina took a seat at the table, folding her hands in front of her. She stared out past the table, but really to nothing.

“What is bothering you, dear?” Cait asked. She took a seat on the couch.

“It is a weird thing to make up,” Nina said. “Xiphos doesn’t do that.”

“No,” Cait said. “She does not.”

“Then why would she?”

“I do not believe she is, dear.” Cait said.

Nina considered this. She dropped her eyes to her hands.

“Do you not have work to do?” Cait asked, though her tone did not change.

“I do,” Nina said. “May I take a moment? These last few days have been weird.”

The intercom gave a short blip, a signal that the helm wanted the captain in person. “Of course,” Cait said. She squeezed Nina’s shoulder as she passed her on her way to the bridge. “Take all the time you need.”

Xiphos sat in the low light of the bridge. She stared at her screens, her legs pulled up to her chest, ears down.

“Helmsman,” Cait said as she entered the bridge.

“Sir.” Xiphos waved Cait over, and tilted a screen so she could see. It was a map of their surroundings, triangulated from Relay towers, and their sonar display. The Rose was in the center, with little green dots around them. There was a small line of dots behind them, zig-zagging up the map to the Rose. Another boat, a few miles out, followed along, tracing each turn the Rose took.

“I think we’re being followed,” Xiphos said.

“Indeed,” Cait said, leaning over Xiphos for a better look.

“Is it pirates, sir?”

“Pirates would have attacked by now, most of them,” Cait mumbled. “Who ever they are, they are waiting.”

“What for?”

“I could not tell you, helmsman. Hopefully we will not find out. How is our travel time looking?”

“Four and a half days to Peck Harbor.”

Cait frowned at the screen, furrowing her brow. “Reroute to Ghanda. That is two days away.”

Xiphos punched her keyboard, and their directional lines changed. She steered to match the line. A moment later, the other boat on screen did the same.

“Full speed,” Cait said. “Do not worry about fuel.” She sat down in the helm chair next to Xiphos.

“Do we go to alert, sir?”

“No,” Cait said. “We do not need a panic on board. For all we know, someone is just riding our wake.” She thought a moment. She leaned over to the intercom. “Tre, we need you on the bridge, please.” Cait folded her hands in front of her, watching the boat trace their path on the monitor.

That night, in the silence of her quarters, Cait prayed to Nibiru for her protection.

[g]

Back to Part 016 – Forward to Part 018

Back to Part 015 Notes – Forward to Part 017 Notes

We’re getting closer, so close Cait can see it. Just like we talked about last week, we’re less than ten days away from Cait paying off her debt. So now she can worry about things like Toby trying to run off again, and what ever the Travelers are up to. Oh, and apparently Burian Lake is lurking again, but that’s not been confirmed.

Also, Nina has a talk with Xiphos, though that happened out of our range of hearing. But given how emotionally tired Nina looked afterwards, you can bet it was a little intense. No dumping, let me assure you, just Nina telling Xiphos to stop acting like a dick to Toby.

The passport Toby got, by the way, was a Molynuex Island passport. It helps when you have your own sovereign nation that you can pretty much say who you please is a citizen. So now that Toby has a passport, he’s going to try to run home. And Cait wants to stop him.

I suppose this takes us back to whether Cait has saved Toby, or just re-kidnapped him from someone else. Clearly, Cait thinks what she is doing is right, but she won’t let him leave. What does that mean?

Well, have at it. Did I miss anything this week? As always, any of your questions or comments are totally welcome.

[g]

Back to Part 015 Notes – Forward to Part 017 Notes

Back to Part 015 – Forward to Part 017

“I’m sure things are fine,” Billy said, arms folded over his chest.

Cait leafed through the Travelers’ papers. Everything had been right, or at least looked right, but she checked again. She sat at her desk, reading each line, down to the way they were printed on the page.

“Things do not feel fine,” Cait said. She checked again. “There is something… off.”

Billy scrubbed his face with his hands. “What? What’s off? Neither one has a criminal record, or marks that are too bad on their transcripts. They’re normal, Cait.”


Cait set the papers down on the desk and, head in hands, said, “you must think I’m daft.”

Billy leaned up to Cait and patted her back. “Oh, Cait, we weren’t going to say anything, but yes. As crazy as a krakken fisher. We’ve arranged for you to be picked up in Coupland and taken to their mental facilities.”

“Oh, hush.” Cait pushed him away, but couldn’t hide her smile.

“There it is,” Billy said, leaning back against the wall. “We’ve officially exited the familial bubble of anger and pain. We are now in non-Molyneux waters. I’ll alert the crew.”

“It’s all Molyneux waters, Billy. ‘The sun never sets on the influence of the Molyneux’.”

Billy leaned his head back, looking up at the ceiling. “Someday we’ll be all wistful and teary-eyed for the days when the Molynuex only dreamed of taking over the world.”

Cait snorted. “So what brings you up here, Billy?”

“It’s important I see how the captain is feeling.”

“I am fine, thank you.” Cait picked up the Travelers’ papers again.

“Preoccupations aside?”

“I am not preoccupied. And you, Billy, are a general physician, not a psychologist.”

Billy folded his arms again. “Xiphos didn’t do as well as you did last night.”

Cait looked up at Billy. “That girl.”

“It only happens on Molyneux Island. There’s something about that place that brings out the worst in a lot of us.”

“They’re called ‘Molyneux’, Billy.”

Billy rolled his eyes. “I’m worried, Cait. I don’t want this to become a habit for her.”

“Billy, you are the doctor. Say so, I am sure she will listen.”

“She likes you.”

“She practically lives in your infirmary, Billy. You two are a team.”

“Cait,” Billy said. “She trusts you. She adores you. If you say, she’ll listen. Don’t forget who told us about Logan.”

Cait froze, her hands hovering just above her desk. Her eyes flicked across the papers, and then she sat back, the weight of history slipping off her shoulders. “Right you are. I will talk with her before her shift starts, then.”

Billy patted her shoulder. “That’s what I wanted.”

“Am I slipping, Billy? Should I have noticed that?”

Billy shrugged. He picked up Cait’s teapot, shook it, and put it down when he discovered no tea inside. “Do we know how the boy’s doing?”

Cait took a moment to skim over Tami’s record sheet. “He seems alright. He is still closed off, which… I would fully expect in his situation. Nina has seemed to take an interest in his well-being.” Cait reached out to the intercom on the wall. “Speaking of which…” She said into the receiver, “Nina, I need you on the bridge, please.”

Billy raised an eyebrow. “I think Nina and Xiphos are having a very long talk.”

“Good. That needed to happen.”

“I suppose. But what about Tobias?”

“He is going to run again,” Cait offered. “He has a passport now.”

“So that went through? Cait, why do you keep giving him the opportunity?”

“Because,” Cait said, “if we want him to trust us, he needs to see we trust him. Also, how would you like an assistant in the kitchen?”

Billy shrugged again. “Oh sure.”

Cait set aside the Travelers’ papers. “Good. I will assign him as soon as he gets back from his excursion in Coupland.”

Billy stretched and opened the office door. “I’ve got other work I need to get done.”

“As do I.”

Billy started into the bridge. He stopped, turning back to Cait, resting his hand on the office door frame. “Cait… I can’t always be here to make sure you’re taking care of yourself.”

“I’ll be fine, Billy.”


Billy nodded, but his expression didn’t change. He sighed, and started back to the infirmary.

Outside, on the bridge, Tre manned the helm. Cait approached slowly, placing her hand on Tre’s shoulder, watching the displays around him. A headline flashed on the Relay screen: a Burian Lake attack, again in the South Ocean. This one seemed a little more authentic, and Tre pointed to it.

“I see,” Cait said. “That is serious. Has it been confirmed?”

Tre shook his head.

“It is a big ocean, dear.”

Tre sighed hard out his nose. Cait patted his shoulder.

“How is she sailing?”

The lion pointed to one of the displays, and a chart of fuel usage.

“We are running more efficiently than normal? Is that your doing?”

A nod.

“Well done, Tre!”

Tre tried to hide his smile. He turned away from Cait.

Cait leaned closer, dropping her voice. “What do you think of our Travelers?”

Tre’s ears dropped. He narrowed his eyes.

“Yes,” Cait said. “I agree. I want you to keep an eye on them.”

Another nod.

“Good. You know where to find me, dear.”

Cait turned back to the portal down to the guest quarters. Nina stood waiting, hands behind her back, her ears stuck up alert, head tilted a little. She watched Cait, the gears in her head clearly turning. “Aunt Cait?”

“Hello, Nina.” Cait said, stifling a small jump, willing it back into her spine. She stood up straight. “Have you and Xiphos straightened everything out?”

Nina sighed and nodded. “I think so. I think I’ve talked her in to being at least professional to Toby, if not nice. That’s better than nothing, right?”

“I think it is very commendable, dear.” Cait motioned for Nina to follow her in to her office. “I have a job for you.”

“Is it about the Travelers? Is everything alright?” Nina hung back at the door, just like Billy had, hands still behind her back. She slumped just a little, betraying her emotional fatigue, and stared ahead, bewildered and concerned.

“Just helm business, dear. It is none of your concern.”

Nina nodded. She let her hands down to her side.

“When we get to Coupland, after our guests have dispersed, I need you to meet someone…”

Back to Part 015 – Forward to Part 017

Back to Part 014 Notes – Forward to Part 016 Notes

Most of this section is another example of “what I wanted to say has pretty much been said on this section.” Recap: We follow Tre around, Billy can’t cook, Travelers fight, and Cait is excited. Just as she said, in seven days they’ll be out of debt, and then they start over.

Augh. I really got nothing for this week. I’ll check back in later today if anything comes up. In the meantime, we’re fifteen sections in. Any questions over all? Anything I’ve skipped over that you wanted me to talk about?

Also, I’m going to post this here. Milly drew a picture of Xiphos a while back. I’m trying to get her to scan it, but in the mean time it’ll do.

[g]

Back to Part 014 Notes – Forward to Part 016 Notes

Back to Part 014 – Forward to Part 016

Tre did a quick sweep of the guest quarters to find the sound — and the smell — that was bounding its way through the Rose was Billy. The human leaned over the stove, holding a frying pan. All around him was the evidence of what may have been, at sometime, the makings of an omelet. What was in the pan could not, by any generous person, be called an omelet. Billy looked up at him.

“What?” Sweat beaded on his brow.

Tre pointed to the pan.

“Yeah, well, we have guests for once, and I thought I should see if I still had it in me before we brought them aboard.”

Tre narrowed his eyes, giving Billy a side-long stare.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

The lion held up his hands and shook is head.

“Right. Are you hungry at least? Care for some?” Billy held up the pan with the rubbery eggs. Tre backed away, shaking his head, ears slicking back.

“Fine,” Billy said, setting the eggs aside. “I suppose you ate already.”

The lion nodded fiercely, as if harder would make it more true. He’d grab something later, when Billy was far, far away from the kitchen.

“Then we should let Nina know we have guests. And where are our Travelers?”

Tre rolled his eyes. He tapped the First Mate patch on the shoulder of his coat, and then gave the clipboard he was holding a little wave.

“Right, sorry.” Tre left Billy alone with his eggs. Billy stared down into the pan. He skewered a glob with a fork. He chewed thoughtfully. “Yeah, no, that’s not going to work.” He scraped the pan in the garbage and started over.

Nina was asleep on the couch in the crew quarters, curled up tight on one side. Toby was on the other, and both of them were making a distinct point of leaving as much space between them as they could. Tre gently shook both of them awake. He showed her the spot on the clipboard where guests had been logged. She nodded, rubbed her eyes, and yawned.

“Is there breakfast?” She asked, standing and stretching.

Tre pointed up to the guest quarters.

“Oh,” Nina said. She started to the steps until her mind caught up with her. “Wait, from who? Not you. Billy?”

Tre nodded gravely.

Nina gave a little whimper. “Does he know we’re up? Is he expecting us?”

Tre shook his head.

“Oh, sweet Nibiru. I bet we have some toaster pastries around here.”

Toby looked up over the couch, brushing his long headfur from his eyes. “Toaster pastries?”

“Yeah, come on.” Nina opened one of the cabinets and started rooting around. Toby joined in.

Tre spun on his heel, back up to the receiving gallery. Their Travelers were late.

Cait passed Tre on his way up. He gave her a quizzical look.

“Good morning,” she said. She stopped to take a look at Tre’s clipboard. “I am expecting a package from customs. I also need to borrow Xiphos. We need to get Tobias some clothes.”

Tre nodded. He made a note on his clipboard. He looked back at Cait.

“What is it?” Cait asked, reading Tre’s face. Tre put a hand on her shoulder.

“I am fine,” Cait said. “I will be a little slow on the uptake this morning, but I did this to myself, so there is no use complaining. What of our Travelers?”

Tre shrugged.

“Alert me when they come in. I will rouse Xiphos and get her on her way.”

Cait padded down the narrow hall to the crew quarters. Tre made his way to the bridge. He began activating the ship, getting the engine started and the Relay up and running. After a moment, over the hum of the engines, voices floated up a back stairway to the engine room. Tre crept to the top of the steps.

“This is not what we’re here for,” one of the voices said. It was Tami. She sounded just on the other side of upset.

“It’s better than what we’re here for,” Patel said. “We have a chance to make a lot of money.”

“I’m not in this for money.”

“Don’t think of it as money. It’s freedom. You can do whatever you want. Give it away. But don’t pass this up.”

There was silence from Tami. And then she said, “We don’t even know these people.”

“Whatever.”

“What happens when they change their mind?”

“Not going to happen.”

“This is about trust.”

Patel returned Tami’s silence.

“I don’t have to go with you.” Tami said.

“No,” Patel said. “You don’t. But you will.”

Tre walked down the steps. Tami stood at the bottom, arms folded over her stomach, her ears pressed flat against her head. Patel stood as far away as he could, just over an arm’s length, his arms down at his side. They both looked up at Tre, Tami’s ears perking. Patel pushed back against the wall, his eyes growing a little wider. Tre raised his eyebrows at them, tapping his finger on his wrist.

“Yeah, sorry,” Patel said. “We’re working stuff out. Traveler stuff.”

Tre tilted his head a little, locking his eyes with Patel.

“Right, going.” Patel started back up the steps, Tami hanging behind a little. She avoided Tre’s eyes, instead staring at the weathered medallion around his neck. The Travelers had been adventurous once and read what it said. After that, Tre had found it much easier to ply them to their tasks.

Up in the receiving gallery, Nina waited, her hands folded in front of her. She had changed in to more professional clothing. She focused out the portal, down the gang plank, her ears twitching thoughtfully. Tre followed her gaze, resting his own on Xiphos leading Toby onto the docks to the waiting Dinghy.

“She’s kind of a mess, isn’t she?” Nina said, still looking at Xiphos.

Tre shrugged. He had known Xiphos since she first came aboard. In four years, he had seen quite a change. She had even managed to will away most of the fear she held of him. Sometimes, when he as finishing his shift at the helm, Xiphos would join him early. When she did talk, it was always about little things, except, on braver days, she would talk, at length about Nina.

“Does everyone think I’m going to dump Xiphos for Toby?” Nina asked, her voice suddenly developing a very sharp edge. Tre stood up a little straighter, taking a small step back.

“Or is that what happens when I’m nice to a random boy that wanders through our lives?” She breathed a sort sigh out her nose. “It seems like everyone else is on the same page about this but me.”

Tre carefully put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in to a quick hug. He patted her on her head, his hand covering her like an oversized hat.

Nina cracked a smile, but it faded almost instantly. “I’m going to talk to her when she gets back.” Her eyes caught shapes moving up the gangway, and her demeanor changed instantly. “Hello! Welcome to the Rose!” She shook the hands of a few tired customers, checking their tickets against her list. There were only three, but that was better than none.

“Let me show you to the guest quarters.” She led the guests down the hall. “My name’s Nina, and I’ll be making sure you get taken care of today.” She disappeared around the corner, her guests shuffling after her.

Cait passed Tre again, heading back up to the bridge. “Have our Travelers reported in?”

Tre nodded, falling into step behind her.

“Excellent. The family mechanics will be here in a moment to take a look at the Rose. Nothing serious, mind, just an standard inspection Please show them to the engines. Once they are finished, we just need Xiphos to come back, and then we can shove off. And have you seen any sign of customs?”

Tre shook his head.

Cait took a seat in the navigator’s chair. “Call me when they do arrive.”

Tre started back to the receiving gallery.

“Tre,” Cait said. The lion stopped, turning back to Cait. “It is almost over,” she said. “In seven days, we will be free of our financial obligations.” She grinned, and then tried to hide her excitement. Tre nodded, and turned back to his duties.

In seven days, they’d be back to where they were two years ago. Cait was happy; he was happy. In seven days, they’d have a future again.

[g]

Back to Part 014 – Forward to Part 016