“What the dragonheats is all this urgency about?” General Sako said once I met his gaze. “And why haven’t you returned on the icebreakers?”
“There’s no time,” I replied. “We’re about to be ambushed.”
“What? No, you’re misinformed. The Hummingbirds have been monitoring our surroundings constantly, reporting back every ten minutes. There’s nothing visible for leagues.”
“With all due respect, General, do the Hummingbirds operate underwater?”
“No, but neither do other automatons. So, we have nothing to worry about in that respect.”
“That’s untrue,” Faso butted in, and Winda put a hand on his shoulder as if to stop him raging. “I’ve tested my dragon automaton underwater and made sure Velos’ armour and helmet work too, though not his cannon. I’m sure Travast is also capable of developing such technology.”
General Sako raised an eyebrow. “Have you tested it in salt water?”
“No, but it will work,” Faso said. “There’s no reason why it shouldn’t.”
“Then I guess there’s no harm in sending them scouting beneath the waves.”
Faso turned to me and smiled. “Oh, now I get it, all this was an act to give you a chance to finally try out the helmet. If I was in your position, I might have done the same.”
“Faso, be serious,” I said. “We don’t know what King Cini has sent out and when it might attack.”
“You don’t know if there’s anything there at all,” Faso said. “How do we know he wasn’t trying to stir up trouble?”
General Sako shook his head hard and then held up his hand to stop Faso. “Hang on, hang on. Backtrack. What happened out there, and what made you think we would suddenly be ambushed by technology we’ve never even heard of?” He took another draw from his pipe.
“We saw one of Alsie’s agents out there,” I said.
Faso nodded. “Lieutenant Wiggea.”
General Sako coughed out plumes upon plumes of smoke, almost choking on it. “What? Impossible, Wiggea’s dead.”
“He’s a dragonman now,” I said. “I never told you, because I knew it would be hard to believe. But during the eruption of the Pinnatu Crater, Wiggea was one of the dragons who arose.”
General Sako regarded me a moment, his eyes wide open and his cheeks puffed out. Then he laughed. “No, you’re pulling my leg. Come on, where are the icebreakers? You retrieved them, didn’t you? And everything’s fine.”
“It’s true, sir,” Lieutenant Talato said. “I saw Wiggea with my own eyes.”
General Sako assessed her for a moment then nodded. Faso and I might jest with him, but there was no way a lady who had spent thirty years of her life as a subordinate officer would dare test General Sako’s metal. “Blunders and dragonheats! If this is true, then we need to get moving at once…”
While he spoke, Lieutenant Talato’s gaze had drifted out into the distance. “Maam, there’s something approaching,” she said.
I only needed a moment to see what she was looking at. A blurry form gaining definition as it approached through the grey clouds. It wasn’t on the horizon but hovering above it slightly. From this distance, it looked kind of like an inverted rock with the top flattened out. But, on closer inspection, I noticed it also to have two flat wings jutting out from its sides.
General Sako noticed what we were staring at. “What is that?”
“It’s the same platform we saw Travast Indorm floating on in the Southlands,” Faso replied. And I turned to see that he already had a field glass to his eye.
“Give me that,” General Sako snatched the field glass out of Faso’s hands and looked through the eyepiece. He grunted and then handed me the device. “I’ve never seen anything like it. What’s that thing on top?”
I looked through the field glass. It was just about close enough that I could make out the felt crown and long, extravagant fur coat. “It’s King Cini. What’s he playing at?”
“Well I never.” General Sako’s nostrils had flared out and his face had gone bright red. “Lieutenant Talato, hand me your rifle.”
The lieutenant glanced at me. “Maam?” she asked. She was, after all, under my authority, not the general’s. I gave her a nod of approval, then I looked through the eyepiece again, astonished that the king would come this close, and without escorts.
“General Sako, Dragonseer Wells,” Admiral Sandao came rushing down the stairs from above the quarterdeck. “Have you seen? I’ve been watching the thing approaching from the bridge.”
“Yes,” General Sako said. “And because the fool responsible for my daughter’s death has dared come out here, I will kill him.”
“Remember, General,” I said, “that his secicao makes him impervious. You need to get a point where there’s not much skin to punch through. Like the neck.”
“Blunders and dragonheats! Why always the neck?” He twitched his moustache. “Well, I’m a good enough shot.”
I unstrapped the rifle from my back. I handed it to Talato. “Take this, just in case, Lieutenant. But let the general take the first shot. After all this time, he deserves it.”
“Affirmative, Maam,” she saluted with her right hand as she took the rifle in her left. Then she ran into position on the opposite side of the deck and crouched down.
The sun broke through the clouds for a moment and then hid away again. All the while, the king was getting ever closer. Close enough that General Sako could take a shot.
“Now…” General Sako said. And I watched the scene unfold through the field glass. King Cini looked every bit as resplendent and pompous as always with his white powdered face and that heavy, luxurious fur collar. The bang came from General Sako’s rifle, followed milliseconds later by another roar from Lieutenant Talato’s.
But the king didn’t flinch.
“Did you see that?” General Sako said. “I hit him, and it went right through him.”
“Me too, sir,” Talato said. “A definite shot to the throat.”
And then a loud raucous laughter resounded from the floating platform. “I knew you’d try. And I thought I’d demonstrate how far our technology has come since I last saw you, General Sako. This is what we call a hologram. Travast Indorm invented it, and now I can get close and talk to you in person, without having to get shot.”
“A holo-what?” General Sako asked.
“A hologram,” Faso said, his head held high. “It was me, actually, who published a paper about the possibilities of such technology in the scientific journals.”
“Blunders and dragonheats. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t think King Cini would gain the resources and finesse to create such a thing. It’s quite a delicate operation, you know?”
I noticed some kind of a bulbous device on the front of the platform, probably a camera lens. And, just like with Travast’s platform, what looked like hundreds of little guns stuck out of the front. Pointing straight at us. The platform jerked to a stop around ten yards or so from the boat, let out a great screeching sound, and then its wings quickly folded in on its bodies as the propellers faced downwards and whirred.
A good two dozen of Sandao’s marines filed out of the superstructure and took position on either side of the deck. “Aim for the platform,” Admiral Sandao said. He held a talkie in one hand and another telescope in his other, placed against his right eye. “We need to take this down before it takes any of our men.”
Besides me, both General Sako and Lieutenant Talato reloaded. Although, much to my satisfaction, the dragonelite was much faster doing so than the general.
“Well, I thought I’d warn you of an unexpected attack before it actually happens,” the king continued. “Really, this is so entertaining, I’ve not had this much fun since that time with Miss Wells and Miss Sako in the palace. I noticed you scouting the skies, but you didn’t even think to check underwater.” Dragonheats, this king liked the sound of his voice far too much.
Admiral Sandao had his
hand raised up in the air, and he watched the platform astutely as it started to edge slightly around the ship. To our left and right, the other ships of the flotilla had lined up in a defensive arc, forming a wall around Candalmo’s trawler and the dragon carrier. On deck, every marine and sailor had their guns trained on this one device. Velos also hovered nearby, with the dragon automaton now next to him, its claws posed ready to attack. Faso stood next to me, wearing the helmet with which he controlled the mechanical beast.
“Aim,” Admiral Sandao said. A whirring sound emerged from the automaton platform, and I watched in horror through my telescope as one gun turned upwards towards Velos.
The lines tightened around Admiral Sandao’s wizened face. “Fire,” he shouted.
And every single marine out on deck fired their rifles. The shots hit their target true. The platform erupted in sparks. A shot also came out from a gun on the platform, but it hit nothing. The floating machine let off a droning sound, tilted over to the side a little, and then tumbled into the water.
For a moment, the skies were clear, other than a single nearby seagull diving for fish. Then, there came a massive crashing sound from below, and a huge squall erupted from the water, rocking the Saye Explorer, and almost sending me reeling towards the edge.
“Blunders and dragonheats!” General Sako said. “We’ve been hit.”
“You can say that again,” Admiral Sandao said. Then he spoke into his talkie. “Lieutenant Commander Farage. Check the hull. I need a full scan on the bulkheads, and I need a damage report quick.”
Faso lifted his visor and turned to me. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by another crash from below. Velos roared out to the sky as an enormous splash erupted from the water. The momentum hit the boat and sent me stumbling to the other side of the deck.
“Dragonheats, get that helmet on, Pontopa,” Faso shouted. “We need to take the dragons underwater.”
“I think you should get to the bridge first,” Admiral Sandao said. “Get yourself sitting, otherwise a direct hit might send you flying overboard.”
I realised he was right, and so without even conferring with Faso, I climbed down the quarterdeck ladder, and I headed towards the aft steam tower and climbed the spiral staircase around it. The clanking of footsteps resounded on the steel behind as Faso followed me up the stairs. At the top, someone opened the door into the bridge for me, and I was happy to see Taka on the other side.
“Auntie Pontopa, what’s happening?” he asked.
“Take a seat, Taka,” I replied. I didn’t want him stumbling into any sharp objects. “We’re being attacked.”
“But by who? I’ve been watching from here, and there’s no one on the water. I only saw that platform with King Cini on it, and we shot him down.”
“It wasn’t King Cini. And the attacks aren’t coming from above the water.”
Taka’s eyes went wide. “Underwater automatons?”
“Yes,” I said.
Faso pushed into the bridge room behind me. “Come on, what are you milling around for? We need to get to the front of the ship.”
A klaxon sounded. Red lights pulsed around the room, and even more sailors and soldiers ran out the door and down the stairs. Faso sprinted towards the front of the bridge, and I took hold of Taka’s hand and led him around the two funnels, to the arched, glass-windowed section of the bridge at the front. Several comfortable looking leather armchairs had been arranged around the outer funnel wall behind us. By the windows, Sandao’s officers had taken their places in front of their control stations, with a complex array of charts and diagrams laid out, none of which I understood.
Faso sat down. “Get your helmet on, Pontopa, and stop gawking.”
Dragonheats, he was right. I checked Taka was secure first, then placed myself down on another seat. Velos hovered right in front of the windows ahead of us, staring into a thick grey layer of clouds.
“Taka,” I said. “Call the dragons out and scout for any airborne automatons that might have joined the perimeter. I’m going to take Velos underwater.”
“You can do that?” Taka said.
“Yes, Taka,” Faso said, sounding slightly annoyed. “Velos’ helmet also contains a breathing device, connected to a layer of compressed oxygen I’ve built into the secicao tanks. Now hush, I need to focus.”
And there was another modification he’d neglected to tell me about. I sighed, then put on the helmet. I flicked the switch I remembered Faso playing with on the side when he’d introduced me to the armour.
Now, I could see through Velos’ eyes. The vision was fisheye and showed the sea stretching out in a splendid spectrum of greens and blues. Besides me, Taka sang a dragonsong, and Velos turned his head to see the Greys swarm out of the dragon carrier that had positioned itself behind the protective wall of destroyers and cruisers.
I sang to Velos to remind him to focus. The dragons weren’t important now, the underwater automatons were. The boat rocked again, and I heard a muffled shouting from outside. I ignored it.
Instead, I recalled the dragonsongs I’d known all my life, I’d chanted them in my dreams since birth and recently in the actual world. It was strange not piloting Velos using his steering fin. But, at the same time, it felt completely natural, seeing the grey churning sea shoot up towards Velos as he dived towards it. Breaking the water and feeling the crash of it against Velos’ skin as if it were my own.
“It’s remarkable what you and your scientist can do, Acolyte Wells. But you know, all you’d need is to claim my gift. Become a dragonwoman and tear your attackers apart with your own claws.”
Finesia was the last person I needed in my head right now. I pushed her away and turned my attention back to the display on the helmet.
Underneath the water, their brass metal exterior glowing green, our attackers looked similar to sharks: razor teeth that flecked the upper and lower edges of their long mouths; streamlined bodies designed for speeding through the water; dozens of spear-like missiles attached to the undersides of both of their fins, with tips so pointed they looked as if they could puncture an ironclad. The automatons accelerated towards their targets, sending whole shoals of minnows scattering in their paths.
Under command of my song, Velos turned his head to see the dragon automaton swimming right next to him. And the dragon automaton turned his head back as if acknowledging Velos’ gaze.
“You can’t breathe fire under there,” Faso said to me. “But I modified the Gatling guns, so they’d work automatically.”
Thank goodness for that, I thought. But I didn’t say it out loud to Faso. Even with my abilities as a dragonseer, there was no way I could sing and speak at the same time.
“Dragonheats, watch out, Pontopa!” Faso shouted from besides me. And I turned Velos’ head to see the menacing tip of one of the missiles heading straight for us. I veered Velos downwards, towards the body of another shark coming straight towards us. But this one hadn’t yet fired any of its missiles, and Velos’ Gatling guns took the automaton down, causing it to crumple and then sink towards the sea floor.
From my right, a stream of bubbles rose out of another shark that had stopped dead in the water. “Got one,” Faso said. “That’s one each. Taka, you should try this sometime. It’s great fun.”
I turned Velos towards the Saye Explorer’s hull and went after a shark heading towards it. Velos’ body bucked from both sides as the Gatling guns unleashed their load. But the shark swerved upwards out of the way, leaving four missiles heading towards the hull. A propeller on the missiles’ backs edged them forwards, and each one was rotating fast.
And any one of them, I was sure, could create a massive hole in the Saye Explorer, sinking the ship. We’d left the tap on before he lifted into the air. So, now augmented, he sped up towards the missiles and gnashed three out of the way. But the last hit its target, just as Velos’ massive body crashed against the boat hull.
Distantly, I felt my body rock in my seat. But I was so f
ocused on what was going on underwater, I didn’t let myself get disturbed by it.
“Blunders and dragonheats,” I heard General Sako say nearby. “Dragonseer Wells, what’s going on down there?”
“Let Pontopa sing her songs, General,” Faso replied. “She needs to stay in control.”
“Very well, Gordoni, boy. So, you tell me. What are they, and how many do we have to deal with?”
“I’ve counted exactly twenty,” the inventor replied. “And we’ve taken down four. That’s three to one, by the way, Pontopa. You have some catching up to do.”
But he probably wasn’t counting the missiles I’d stopped from hitting our boat’s hull. I turned Velos around and commanded him to wrap his jaws around the missile that was trying to sever the rusting steel outer walls of the Saye Explorer. Probably, there were men behind the bulkhead trying to plug up the gap. But I guessed, like an arrow in a wound, it would be much easier for them once the missile was removed.
It took exceptional strength in Velos’ neck, but eventually he snapped the missile in half, so it was no longer a threat. The front barb rotated as it sank, and I noticed the spiral outer thread snaking around the head, exactly like a drill bit.
“Incoming,” Faso said.
I turned around to see another shark coming straight on, this time with missiles shooting out in front of it, spaced out far enough that one would surely hit Velos if he tried to swim out of the way, no matter which direction he went. If they could pierce the Saye Explorer’s hull, I didn’t want to find out what they could do to Velos’ armour. He turned to face them head on and his Gatling guns went into overdrive. They shot six missiles down, leaving just two. Velos turned so he could catch one of them in his teeth while he thumped the other downwards with his tail, redirecting it towards the sea bottom.
Behind, the shark got caught in the crossfire from the Gatling guns, curled into a ball, and sank towards the seabed.
“That’s two you’ve got now, Pontopa,” Faso said. “While I’ve got fifteen. But I wouldn’t take it personally. After all, I have the superior technology.”
Dragonseers and Airships Page 69