Seas of the Red Star

by Andrew Gates

  Ross could hear the same gunfire echo from the opposite side of the ship. It seemed the captain’s plan was working so far.

  “Go, go, go!” Doug said, waving more on.

  The climbers crawled through the narrow openings now. Some were immediately pushed out and forced into the cold, stormy water below. Others made it safely inside. Ross could hear the clanging of swords follow shortly thereafter.

  More sea scorgers continued to ascend the ropes. One by one, they made their way up until it was finally Ross’s turn.

  There was no putting it off any longer. Ross gripped the damp rope tightly in hand and took a deep breath. This was it. Without wasting another second, he began climbing. Hand over hand, he made his way up and up. The climb did not seem so far when watching it from below, but now it seemed like an eternity. When he finally reached the top of the rope, the rowboat looked so far away.

  Ross could hear the sound of fighting inside the cabin. He nervously gulped and peered into the slit. As he expected, his sea scorger mates were locked in battle with the Navy sailors. He promptly pulled himself into the boat and fell against the metal floor. It hurt, but he was okay. He quickly stood up and released his sword from its sheath.

  A Navy sailor spotted Ross almost immediately and made his way over. The crewman looked young and inexperienced, as if he had never used the sword in his hand. Ross grinned. It was time to test his skills.

  The sailor jolted forward and lashed out. The duel was on.

  The young man was quick about his movements. He stabbed at Ross right away, picking his target and thrusting without hesitation. Ross easily parried each strike. The sailor may have been quick, but his jabs were easy to predict. It was like dueling a restless child. At this rate, Ross only needed to let the man wear himself out.

  There was something strangely romantic about swordplay; two men locked in the heat of a one on one battle to the death. It was like a well-choreographed dance.

  After a few minutes, the young man’s attacks came less frequently. Ross took notice of his enemy’s hesitation and let out a strike of his own, his first offensive play in their duel. The sailor raised his sword to parry, but overextended his arm and met Ross’s blade with his knuckle guard.

  “Aah!” the man said, shrieking in pain. The man’s hand stung, giving Ross yet another advantage.

  Not wishing to waste his opportunity, Ross lunged his sword forward, straight through the man’s chest. He quickly pulled it back out. Blood took its place and cascaded onto the metal floor.

  The man’s face went white. He looked down to his wound, then stumbled back before eventually toppling over. Ross did not even bother finishing him off. The man was as good as dead. He would not last much longer anyway.

  Now free from his duel, the sea scorger looked around the room. His fellow boarders were clearly winning the fight. The Navy seemed wholly unprepared for combat. Many of these men appeared young and inexperienced. Within just a few minutes, they all dropped their swords in surrender.

  “Come on, let’s get down to the lower decks!” shouted one of the sea scorgers. Ross could not make out who had said the words, but it was followed by a series of chants and cheers.

  Some of the boarders stayed behind to watch the now-prisoners, but Ross continued along. He joined the others as they ran down a nearby staircase and took care of the remaining crew below.

  The bottom of the staircase ended in a long, narrow hallway. Light was sparse here, making everything a bit more muddled. A series of open doors lined the hall on both sides. Navy men huddled together on the opposite end by another staircase leading down. They were crouched with firearms raised and ready.

  “Look out!” one of the boarders shouted as they spotted the firearms. The sea scorgers stopped in their tracks. Some even tried to turn around and run back up the steps, but they were too late.

  “Fire!” a Navy man shouted.

  Ross instinctively dropped to the floor as a barrage of gunfire echoed through the hallway. Smoke filled the space, making visibility damn near impossible. Bodies toppled down all around Ross.

  Some of the sea scorgers returned fire, though many of them did not carry firearms.

  Once the sound of gunfire cleared out, Ross stood up and spun around, taking in the smoky world. His ears rang. It was practically impossible to hear anything. He was no longer even sure which way to go.

  A hand patted him on the shoulder. Ross turned to face whoever was there. A familiar face smiled to him through the smoke and darkness. It was Jorge. He must have made it safely aboard the ship.

  Jorge spoke to him in silent words.

  “What?” Ross asked.

  Jorge’s lips continued to move.

  “I can’t hear you!” Ross said.

  “I said, let’s get going, lad!” The words finally came through as Ross’s hearing returned. Jorge pointed forward, as if leading him onward.

  Ross nodded his head and reached for his sword, but only grabbed an empty sheath.

  He spun around again, trying to find his weapon. He had not even realized that he had dropped it.

  Suddenly his boot kicked something hard. He reached down and found his old blade again.

  “Reunited,” he said aloud. The sword felt right at home in his grip.

  Without wasting anymore time, Ross made his way down the hall toward the enemy sailors. With so much smoke filling the cabin, he did not even see them until he was right on top of them. Many of the Navy men were in the process of reloading their weapons. Others were ready with their swords drawn, though they were too slow to react. Ross raised his sword and sliced away at the unprepared sailors.

  Two men engaged him, but only after Ross had already slashed three or four Navy men to the point of severe bleeding. Despite the difficult visibility, Ross was able to block their attacks, though a third Navy sailor jumped in unexpectedly and sliced him along the right arm. Ross shouted and instinctively stumbled backward.

  The third man stepped forward, invigorated with a sense of power after dealing his successful blow. He continued to engage Ross. Parry after parry, Ross managed to block the strikes, but had little opportunity to get in a jab of his own. His arm stung with every motion. Then, in a moment of chance, the dueling Navy man turned to face a nearby noise. Ross took every advantage of the opportunity and thrusted his sword forward, piercing the man in the chest.

  Other sea scorgers arrived only moments later, joining Ross in the fight. Duels raged all around him. Fighters danced with their bloodied swords. Within seconds, the battle was over and the hall was clear of Navy.

  Ross took a few moments to catch his breath. He was tired and sore, but fueled by adrenaline. Once ready to move on, he stepped over the bloody corpses and descended the staircase. His fellow sea scorgers followed behind. The roaring noise of the ship was even louder down here. He had never heard a ship make so much noise.

  This section of the boat was not as dark as the last, though still dimly lit. This time rays of daylight found their way in from the outside world through what appeared to be retractable slits in the walls for the cannons. Ross looked around the area. Aside from the cannons, he saw a brig, some cargo space and some cots. There was nobody in sight. It looked to be abandoned.

  “What’s this here?” Jorge asked. He motioned to a closed door.

  Ross had not noticed the door before. He followed closely behind Jorge as the man pressed it open.

  The ship’s roar was loudest here. Ross stepped inside the room and had to practically cover his ears to prevent going deaf. He had never seen anything like this before.

  “What in the Red God’s name is that?” one of the sea scorgers asked.

  Ross shook his head. He hadn’t the slightest clue.

  “What’s that writing say on the door there, boy?” Jorge asked, pointing to a young man named Garren out in the hall.

  Garren studied the words written on a nearby plaque.

  “I don’t know,” the boy said.

&
nbsp; “I thought you could read!” Jorge responded.

  “I can read, but… it’s just… I’m not familiar with this word,” he said as he tried to interpret it.

  “Well, don’t be shy. What does it say?” Jorge asked again.

  Garren froze for a moment, as if not knowing how to respond. Then he simply looked up to the others and gulped.

  “It says ‘Engine Room.’”

  The Flag of the Fist

  Earth Date (Revised Julian Calendar): 01.29.5673

  Location: The Scorger’s Fist, Taspansa, The Governor’s Dominion

  Captain Bergh heard glass shatter beneath the step of his wooden leg. He looked down to find a broken bottle of rum. The shards danced across the deck as it rocked back and forth.

  Bergh took a sigh of relief. The bottle already seemed to be empty. For a moment he was worried that he just wasted their stock of quality liquor.

  He put that thought out of mind and returned his gaze to the enemy boat. It loomed in the distance like an omnipotent, motionless craft. The enemy vessel had stopped firing shortly after the boarding party made its way inside. Captain Bergh watched the action unfold as best he could with his monoscope, but once the boarders made it inside, there was not much to see after that. He wondered what was happening aboard that boat now. Was the fight still raging? And if so, who was winning?

  His own deck was silent now as the remaining crew did their best to clean up the mess the Navy cannons had made. The ship was in shambles. The process of rebuilding would be long. But at least they were alive and the Scorger’s Fist, though badly damaged, still floated.

  As far as he was concerned, that much was a victory.

  All the captain could do now was wait and hope his boarding party was successful. He nervously tapped at his false leg.

  Suddenly there was motion on the enemy ship. Captain Bergh raised his monoscope again and stared through the glass. A hatch opened on the roof of the steel ship. Men slowly crawled out, though he was unable to make out who they were.

  The men pulled themselves atop the ship, carrying some sort of furled flag. They brought it across the roof and dropped it down beside the Navy flag already mounted. A smile lit up the captain’s face as he beheld what happened next.

  The men lowered the Navy flag and tossed it into the water below, casting it out like it was poison to touch. They unfurled a solid black flag with a white fist at the center. Within seconds, it was hoisted high for the world to see.

  “Aye, we did it lads! Victory! We have victory!” the captain shouted. He lifted the hat from his head and tossed into the wind.

  The sea scorgers had not only won, they had stolen the steel ship for themselves.

  ***

  Maps covered the captain’s desk from corner to corner. He had studied them for hours now. His eyes were beginning to grow sore. He felt as if he could not read another word. The captain leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyelids.

  “It’s no use, Marcus, we’ve been at this for hours,” Bergh said to the sailing master, an older sort who had seen more years on the seas than anyone else aboard this boat.

  Marcus slowly shifted his seat. He calmly nodded his head, then shrugged.

  “You’re the captain, sir. You must make the final decision.”

  “Let’s go over what we know,” Bergh said, sitting forward again. “We must get to land to make repairs, but we cannot be certain we won’t encounter hostiles on the way.”

  “None of these seas are safe,” the sailing master confirmed. “No matter what we do, we will be taking a gamble.”

  Bergh sighed and glanced down at the maps again. Not only was his ship in bad shape, but he was now with half a crew. The other half was aboard the Governor’s Glory, a name he knew would not last long with his people at the helm. With half a crew and half a ship, they were vulnerable in every sense of the word. This was not the time for risks.

  “Coral Cove and the Island of Stars be the closest ports friendly to our kind,” the captain finally said, pointing to a few locations on the map.

  “Either one would be suitable,” Marcus agreed.

  “Which be closest?”

  “That would be the Island of Stars, Captain.”

  “Then let’s go there,” Bergh finally decided, “and we’ll just have to hope we have a clear path.”

  “Aye, sir. I will let the crew know our destination at once.” Marcus slowly stood up from his chair. He turned and made his way to the door, when suddenly someone came knocking.

  “Who is it?” Captain Bergh asked.

  “It’s Warren,” a young voice replied from outside. Warren was the ship’s cabin boy, a young man the age of only 10.

  “Come in then,” the captain said.

  “Should I stay?” Marcus asked. He was already to the door.

  “Yes, stay for this.”

  The door opened and Warren eagerly ran inside. There was a smile on his face. He held some sort of parcel in his grasp.

  “What is it, boy?” Captain Bergh wondered. He stood up from his chair.

  “A message, sir! It came by pigeon.”

  “A message? From where?”

  “You know I cannot read, sir,” Warren explained. He handed the parcel to the captain.

  Bergh cleared some space on his desk and set the damp parcel down. He slowly unwound the packaging until he uncovered a papyrus slip inside. He uncurled it and spread it out across the table. Marcus and Warren both leaned over to get a good look.

  “It’s from Captain Azzorro of the Red God’s Gleam,” the captain said aloud as he read the message.

  “Captain Azzorro? What does he want?” asked Marcus.

  Bergh read through more of the message in silence before answering.

  “The steel ship we fought today is not the only one. The Navy has built many more. Captain Azzorro fears the Navy’s new ships may bring an end to the sea scorgers,” the captain explained.

  “By the Red God,” Marcus said. He covered his mouth in astonishment.

  “He plans to fight back. He is calling for a gathering of sea scorgers at Coral Cove.”

  “Coral Cove is nearby!” Marcus interjected.

  “Aye, it is.”

  “What shall our answer be?” he wondered.

  The captain looked up from the letter and stood tall. He stared Marcus in the eye.

  “We answer his call,” Bergh said firmly. “The Scorger’s Fist may be damaged, but we know how to beat them. We took one of their ships. We won. If the Navy wants to destroy us with their magic metal ships, they’ll be in for a surprise when they see one of their own joining our lines.”

  “To Coral Cove, then?” Marcus asked.

  “Aye, the Island of Stars can wait. We set our course to war.”

  To Be Anywhere Else

  Earth Date (Revised Julian Calendar): 02.01.5673

  Location: Steel Victory, Taspansa, The Governor’s Dominion

  Ellen had grown used to the rocking of waves up and down, up and down. Even as she stood in this dark room by herself, the monotonous movement was almost comforting in a way. It was strange to think that the feeling was once so foreign to her.

  Steel Victory had become her home once again. Since leaving the Governor’s island, she had already spent a few days here. The advanced warship was to lead the fleet in the attack against the sea scorgers, with the recently promoted Commodore Yasso at the helm. The journey would take a few more days still.

  Fortunately, Ellen and Dave were not prisoners anymore, at least, not in the traditional sense. They were both permitted to move freely about the cabin of Steel Victory, even converse with the crew and help on the ship. Though, wherever Ellen went, she felt the constant gaze of watchful eyes. They followed her at every move. Her “freedom” was more like “supervision”, though there was no sense fighting it. She would play along.

  Steel Victory’s crew clearly viewed Ellen and Dave more as tools to achieving victory, than as shipmates. The crew did not seem
to trust them, and for good reason. Many of them were there to see them break free from the cells over a week ago. Despite the crew’s reluctance to accept the new passengers aboard their ship, the sailors had no choice.

  It seemed nobody was pleased with the arraignment.

  Ellen had observed a lot over the last few days. Most of all, she was surprised to see how different this crew behaved compared to that of the Red God’s Gleam. The sea scorgers, however dirty and fowl, went about their duties with pride. Whatever they did, be it as mundane as washing the deck or as important as steering the boat, they knew they were helping a greater cause. The scorgers respected the chain of command because they held genuine respect for their captain and, most of all, their fellow sailors.

  Here, the magic was gone. The Navy sailors seemed often reluctant to do their duties, as if it were a chore. They respected the chain of command simply because that was their job. To do otherwise meant punishment. Ellen could not help but feel entirely disconnected from it all. It was like watching emotionless drones go about their work.

  After seeing how they behaved, there was little to reason to stay and socialize with the crew. Ellen wanted to get away from the drones, from the monotony. Sometimes being on her own was the only way to escape.

  Ellen felt a hand press against her back. She quickly turned around to find Dave standing behind her. The two of them were deep below deck, alone in a dark room hardly illuminated by candlelight. This room was used for storage space, though Ellen liked to come here from time to time just to get away from it all and clear her head.

  “Hey,” she said, looking Dave in the eye.

  She felt a strong connection to Dave now, one she did not ever expect to have. Their heart-to-heart talk on the docks changed the way she looked at him. She felt like she really knew him now, and that he knew her. There were few she had formed such a trusting relationship with.