Explorer of the Endless Sea

by Jack Campbell

  “And if he responds by biting you?”

  “Enough,” the Senior Mechanic told them. “The founders set things up so the emperor or empress would handle the commons and we wouldn’t have to rule them directly. The founders didn’t anticipate that those rulers would become strong enough to think they could challenge the Guild. The Guild Masters have decided that we need another tool, something that could counter the Empire without the need for the Guild to constantly monitor its actions.”

  “Why change things that have worked in the past?” the male Mechanic asked.

  “Change is almost always bad,” the Senior Mechanic agreed. “But population growth and pressures among the commons have already caused changes in the situation. In the past the commons only looked to one person, the emperor or empress, for leadership. The pirates that have been giving the Emperor trouble were allowed as a means to keep him distracted, but being commons they’ve never shown any sign of coalescing around a single leader. Now, though, the Guild’s leadership believes that thanks to the Mages and their silly prophecy, we’ve got a chance to try a new tool, someone else the commons will follow, and that’s her. End of discussion.” As if suddenly remembering that Jules was present, the Senior Mechanic shifted his gaze to her.

  But even though listening intently, Jules had kept her outward appearance that of someone listless and inattentive. Common people had figured out that was the safest face to show to Mechanics. Acting nervous or worried would center the attention of Mechanics on a common and make the Mechanics nervous as well. Whereas acting like a placid, dumb old cow on two legs made Mechanics complacent and more likely to pay little attention to a common. Commons had been employing that defensive aspect for a long time. As Mak had told her, it was always wise to fool people with whatever they expected to see since then they’d be more likely to accept it.

  The younger male Mechanic had also checked to see if Jules was paying attention to the debate. “Hey, common!”

  Jules pretended to come out of a bored daze. “Yes, Sir Mechanic?”

  “What were we talking about?”

  “Sir Mechanic?” Mimicking a student suddenly presented with a pop quiz, Jules acted as if she were groping for an answer. “The…effort of the Emperor…must fail.”

  “Good,” the Senior Mechanic said. “You managed to grasp the most important point. As when you killed Mages and the Guild pretended not to be involved, now you will halt the Emperor’s work as if acting on your own. The Emperor couldn’t ignore a direct action by the Guild, but if a secret project of the Emperor’s is stopped by a minor actor, few in the Empire will hear of it. The Emperor can keep his defeat as secret as he did the initial effort, choosing to pretend nothing had happened. That will be far safer for him than moving to counter what took place.”

  Jules didn’t want to seem too sharp, but had to understand what the Mechanics were planning. “Why would the Emperor hesitate to counter something I did, Sir Senior Mechanic?”

  “Because responding to an attack on a settlement that far from Imperial territory would require a major military action by his legions, and the Emperor knows the Guild would react to a major military action. We’d destroy the Imperial force, something the Emperor couldn’t hope to cover up. He’d be humiliated in the eyes of his people.” The Senior Mechanic eyed her. “You offer us a more precise means to adjust the Emperor’s behavior.”

  “You want me to attack the new settlement?” Jules asked, not sure that she’d heard right.

  “Wasn’t I clear?”

  “Sir Senior Mechanic…attack an Imperial town?”

  Mechanic Verona gave her a cross look. “Why is that giving you trouble? Haven’t you attacked Imperial towns already? The authorities in Sandurin are still flinching at shadows because of what you did there.”

  “I didn’t actually attack Sandurin,” Jules said. Although the Imperial authorities might have seen her actions in rescuing some captive laborers and their families as an attack. Especially since she’d killed a few retainers of an Imperial prince in the process.

  Could she do what the Guild wanted? Because aside from frustrating the Emperor, that could be a good thing for Jules’ own plans. Keeping the west free of the Empire. And attacking an Imperial town was something no common had ever thought of, actually taking armed action against the Empire. One of those cages of the mind that limited actions before they were even thought of. One of those cages that she wanted to break free of to show others it could be done.

  She hesitated, thinking. “I’d have to gather other ships and crews to help. Do you know how many legionaries and ships the Emperor is sending to protect this new town, Sir Senior Mechanic?”

  “Not many,” he replied with a negligent wave, as if such matters were of no concern to his Guild. “He’s starting out small in hopes of keeping the Guild from noticing. As for your own efforts, you shouldn’t have any trouble gathering forces from among those who’ve fled the Empire. They think you’re their…what do they call you?”

  Jules tried to keep her angry reaction from showing in her voice. “Captain. They call me captain of my ship. The Imperial authorities call me a pirate.”

  The other male Mechanic laughed again. “Really? And what do the Mages call you?”

  She hesitated again, deciding to tell the truth to see how the Mechanics would react. “One called me a shadow.”

  “What’s that?” The Senior Mechanic sat straighter, surprised, and the gazes of the other two Mechanics sharpened. “A Mage spoke to you? Was it the one who spoke that so-called prophecy?”

  “No, Sir Senior Mechanic. It was another. He was dying.”

  “He called you Shadow?”

  “No, Sir Senior Mechanic. He kept calling me a shadow. He said everyone was a shadow.”

  “Maybe that’s some kind of weird Mage insult,” the younger male Mechanic said.

  “Maybe,” Mechanic Verona said, “it’s a Mage’s way of saying everyone not a Mage isn’t important. You know, just a trick of the light that can’t really do anything.”

  “That’s likely it,” the Senior Mechanic said, nodding. “What they’ve got wrong is that they’re Mages, so they’re not important, and we know everything they claim to do is a trick.” His lips quirked in amusement. “You said he was dying, common? At your hands, no doubt. You’ve rid this world of more than one Mage. That’s another of the reasons why the Guild decided to offer you this opportunity to serve it. You might also think of it as a test for you personally.”

  “A test for me, Sir Senior Mechanic?” Jules asked.

  Mechanic Verona answered, her eyes once again fixed on Jules. “The Guild identifies young children with the Mechanic skills and acquires them at that age. It’s rare but not unheard of for older candidates to be brought into the Guild if someone of sufficient talent is identified.” She waited, watching, to see how Jules reacted to the statement and its implied promise.

  Jules wondered whether she was supposed to look thrilled or daunted, but could spare little attention to that in her efforts to avoid shuddering in revulsion at the idea. Did Mechanic Verona really think she’d let the Mechanics Guild do to her what they’d done to her and so many other children of commons? She had no family to be turned against, but no one would turn her against her own people. Horrible enough that the other Mechanics had spoken of her children having to suffer that fate, but Jules herself as well?

  Never. Not her children, and not her.

  Perhaps Mechanic Verona saw what she was expecting to see in Jules’ reaction, though. She smiled slightly. “Handle yourself right, and it could happen.”

  Stars above, the Mechanics thought they’d just offered the strongest bribe possible. As if certain no common could resist such an opportunity.

  Maybe she would’ve been tempted, Jules thought, but only if she were someone else.

  Oblivious to Jules’ thoughts, the Senior Mechanic reached into his pack and brought out an object.

  Another Mechanic revolver.
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  “It is necessary,” he told Jules, “to make it clear to the Emperor that your actions in this case have the backing of the Guild. We also want to ensure your success.” He set the revolver on the table next to the one Jules had brought before reaching into the bag to bring out a leather holster as well. “This weapon has five cartridges in it. You know what cartridges are, correct? Good. Choose someone reliable to use it alongside you. Even the Emperor’s vaunted legions can’t stop bullets with their shields.” The Senior Mechanic grinned as if he’d made a clever joke.

  “You’re giving me a second weapon?” Jules asked, unable to believe it.

  “Like the one you’ve been carrying, it’s a loan, not a gift.” His smile turned smug. “The Guild has realized that it doesn’t need to dirty its own hands with some necessary tasks. Not if commons can be used instead. The Guild may demand this weapon’s return. It would be foolish not to comply if that demand is made. And, of course, you will receive no more cartridges unless you use the weapon in ways that the Guild approves of. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Sir Senior Mechanic,” Jules said.

  “Gather the necessary forces and destroy the Emperor’s ill-advised settlement attempt. Take no more time than is necessary to carry out this task.”

  “Yes, Sir Senior Mechanic.” Jules paused as one of the Mechanic’s words went home. “Destroy? Sir Senior Mechanic, is it necessary to destroy the settlement?”

  The young male Mechanic glowered at her. “Your instructions are not complicated.”

  “I understand them, Sir Mechanic,” Jules said. “But there’s a good chance at least some of those sent to populate that settlement would be willing to live free of the Emperor’s control. We could eliminate the Emperor’s forces at the settlement and the Imperial leaders there, and leave the settlement to grow as a counter to further attempts by the Emperor to colonize that area.”

  “Why should we do that?” the Senior Mechanic asked, watching Jules closely.

  “It would help establish another means of dealing with the Emperor’s power,” she said. “Instead of the Emperor using this settlement to expand the area he controls and create a new town or city answering to him, it would be a place populated by people who have escaped his control. A block against the Emperor trying the same thing there again.” The Mechanic didn’t seem impressed enough by the argument, so she deployed another. “And, of course, if it grew into a city it would be a place where your Guild could build a new Hall, thus expanding its power.”

  “Yes.” The Senior Mechanic nodded slowly, an approving gaze on her. “That thought had occurred to us. Can you do it? Can you ensure that settlement remains independent of the Emperor?”

  “Independent?”

  That question earned her another superior grin. “Not answering to the Emperor. Not subject to his command. Like Altis. And like you. Although naturally you and that settlement will be expected to obey any commands from the Guild.”

  “Naturally,” Jules said.

  Independent. A new word. A new idea.

  She liked it.

  People who could live free of control by the Emperor and his many servants.

  She hadn’t known how to describe the future she wanted except by using the word free. But now she knew another word, another idea. Independent. Freedom from control by the Emperor, and someday from the Mechanics, and from the Mages as well.

  She smiled as if agreeing with the Senior Mechanic, but inside Jules was amused by the irony that the Mechanics were helping her forge the weapons that the daughter of her line would someday use to destroy them.

  “That’s all,” the Senior Mechanic said, rising from his seat. “Unless you hear otherwise you can let the town remain after you’ve captured it as long as sufficient commons there agree to keep it as a bastion against further Imperial actions. You have your orders. Get the job done.” He gestured to the other two Mechanics as he headed for the door.

  The two male Mechanics rose, the younger speaking in a low voice to the Senior Mechanic as they left the room, but Mechanic Verona paused just short of the door, her eyes fixed on Jules. “How did he die?” she asked in a low voice.

  So Mak’s daughter did care about his fate. Jules inhaled deeply before she could reply. “Two Mages killed your father.”

  “He long before that decided to stop being my father,” Verona said, her voice growing harsh.

  “No, he didn’t. He loved you and your mother with his last breath.”

  Verona scowled and looked away as if refusing to debate the matter. “Two Mages. Maybe someday you’ll be able to kill them.”

  “I already did,” Jules said.

  The Mechanic’s startled gaze went back to Jules. “You’re sure it was them?”

  “Yes, Lady Mechanic. His blood was still on their knives when I wet my blade with their blood.”

  Verona bit her lip. “Good.” After another pause, as if uncertain whether to say more, she nodded brusquely to Jules and turned to go.

  Jules stopped Verona with a question poised in a soft voice. “Lady Mechanic, why does it have to be this way?”

  Verona shook her head. “It has to be. You don’t understand.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “If you haven’t yet accepted the way things are, you need to start,” Mechanic Verona said. “They’re not going to change.”

  She left before Jules could say anything else. Which was just as well. Jules doubted that the Mechanic would’ve liked being reminded of the Mage prophecy.

  Jules picked up both weapons, deciding to carry both rather than place hers back in the holster. The woman Mechanic and the armed escort were waiting outside the room. They didn’t appear happy to see the Mechanic revolvers in her arms, but none objected. Jules followed them out through the passages, trying to see as much as possible of what was around her without the Mechanics realizing she was doing so. At one point, Jules took a quick look at one of the lights, trying to make out the source of its brilliance, but had to just as quickly look away when the intensity stung her eyes.

  Out on deck again, Jules couldn’t resist taking a deep breath of the fresh sea air that she’d wondered if she’d ever taste again.

  Finally placing her revolver back in its holster and gripping the other holster and revolver tightly in one hand, Jules went down the ladder with a series of awkward, one-handed lurches.

  Stepping back into the longboat, she saw her sailors staring at her with mingled joy and disbelief. “Let’s get back to the ship,” Jules prompted them, grinning, and the sailors hastily bent to their oars.

  The Mechanic ship began moving away from them faster and faster, the pale smoke rising from a sort of a chimney amidships growing in size and strength. Jules noticed a churning of the water along the stern of the ship. Did that mark the presence of whatever drove it forward? She had no way of knowing.

  By the time the longboat once again reached the Sun Queen, the Mechanic ship had executed a smooth turn and headed back to the south.

  Jules climbed up to the deck, seeing Liv staring at her with amazement. “How did you do it this time?” Liv asked.

  “I didn’t kill some people I could’ve killed,” Jules said, unable to resist the urge to needle Liv for her earlier advice. She went up to the quarterdeck, watching the Mechanic ship move away. She didn’t really breathe freely again until it had disappeared over the horizon.

  “Where to, Cap’n?” Ang asked, his eyes on the extra Mechanic weapon that Jules now carried.

  “Kelsi’s, as planned,” Jules said. “I need to talk to some friends, and they’re likely to be in that area.”

  Chapter Six

  “Are you out of your mind?”

  The Sun Queen had encountered the Star Seeker on open waters. There’d been bad blood between the two ships right after Jules had killed the Star Seeker’s former captain, Vlad, for insulting her. But once the Star Seeker’s crew discovered that Vlad had been holding out on them and keeping far more than his fair s
hare, relations between the ships had evened out again. Jules hadn’t yet met the new captain of the Star Seeker, a man named Hachi who seemed to think a dozen thoughts for every word he eventually uttered, but she did convince him to follow her into Kelsi’s.

  At Kelsi’s they found both the Storm Rider and the former Imperial war sloop the Storm Queen. Both captains, Erin and Lars, had worked with Jules before, and both agreed to a meeting of all four captains, though Erin insisted the meeting be aboard the Storm Rider. As much as Jules loved the Sun Queen, she had to admit that Erin’s cabin was bigger and much better furnished.

  At the moment, inside that cabin, the other three captains were staring at Jules as if trying to determine whether she truly had gone insane.

  “Are you?” Erin pressed.

  Jules leaned back in her chair, deliberately trying to look as casual and unconcerned as possible. “Not yet.”

  “Attacking an Imperial town,” Lars said slowly, as if still trying to absorb what Jules had said. “If the idea is to get us all killed when the Emperor sends everything he’s got after us, it’s not bad. But I’m not really in favor of it.”

  Jules shook her head. “The Emperor isn’t going to react. Not that way.”

  “Tell you that, did he?” Erin asked.

  “No. The Mechanics Guild told me.”

  Silence fell, finally broken by Erin. “You’re working with them again? I thought they’d decided to put an end to you.”

  “They had,” Jules said. “But I convinced them I could be of use to them alive.”

  Captain Hachi from the Star Seeker finally spoke up. “Why would any of us want to be of use to one of the Great Guilds?”

  “Because the Great Guilds offer us the only counterforce that can stop the Emperor from doing whatever he wants.” Jules let that sink in for a moment, then unrolled onto the table the chart she’d brought. “None of you asked where this Imperial town is. It’s about here,” she said, indicating a point nearly due north of the city of Altis.

  “There?” Lars said, looking at the chart. “Says who?”

  “The Mechanics Guild.” Jules tapped one place on the chart. “The Emperor has figured out there’re decent lands beyond the Northern Ramparts. The Great Guilds won’t let him openly establish towns out there, though, just like they’ve frustrated the Emperor’s attempts to deal with the escapees and bandits in the Ramparts and places like Kelsi’s. The Emperor is planning to secretly set up a small settlement at this spot, where there’s a big river coming down inland, and get it well established before the Great Guilds know it’s there. It’s a test, to see how the Great Guilds react. But the Mechanics have already learned of the plan, and don’t want it to succeed. They’re worried about how much force the Emperor already commands, and don’t want him growing any more powerful.”