Erick snorted.
“I’ve come to a stop,” the pilot up front said. “It’s not safe to navigate until we figure out how to get the sonar back online.”
“And the electricity,” Jelena murmured.
“You’re complaining about being in the dark when you have the arms of someone with manly manners wrapped around you?” Erick asked.
“He let go.”
“That’s a relief. I’d have to tell Leonidas if any canoodling was going on down here.”
“We have electricity from the batteries,” the pilot said. “The lights are off to preserve what we have until the engine is repaired.”
Thor shifted to the side to walk past Jelena and up to the cockpit. “You will continue,” he told the pilot firmly. “I’ll guide you.”
“Thor is driving now?” Erick muttered. “How comforting.”
“Keep a second eye out, Ostberg,” Thor said over his shoulder.
“Yes, your royal highness.”
Jelena swatted him on the chest. He’s lying low. Don’t do anything to blow his cover.
I didn’t blow anything. A delusional mercenary officer could insist his people call him that.
Uh huh. Also, I was told back on Arkadius that his proper address is your imperial highness.
Does he insist you call him that when he has his arms around you?
Next time, my swat is going to be lower.
“Ostberg,” Thor said coolly. Had he been eavesdropping? Or could he just tell Erick wasn’t concentrating?
“Oh, trust me, I’m paying attention to those mines.”
“Good.” Thor lowered his voice, and Jelena sensed him standing right behind the pilot. “Continue.”
She caught herself holding her breath as the submarine creaked and groaned as it continued forward. Ten miles from the coast? They were barely creeping along. Traveling ten miles would take an eternity. And what would they do once they arrived?
“Are we still going to be able to reach our original port?” she asked quietly, not that any of her people would know. And the pilots were busy, one fixing the engine, one being mind-manipulated by a Starseer.
“Do we know what our original port was?” Masika grumbled.
“Well, I don’t, but I assume the pilots do.”
“There are a lot of ships heading our way,” Erick said, sudden alarm in his voice. “Thorian, buddy, you see that?”
“Yes.”
A beep came from the cockpit, and the pilots yelled back and forth to each other.
“I think the sonar came back online,” Erick said, “and they also see the ships.”
A rasp sounded, and soft, yellow light flared from the back of the vessel—was that a lantern being lit? With a match? How primitive.
A vigorous clang, clang, clang sounded.
“I think he’s just banging on the engine with a hammer and hoping for the best,” Erick muttered.
“Can you help?” Jelena wished she could do something to help.
“By what? Pedaling? This antiquated boat could have been a museum piece back when the colony ships first arrived.”
“Does that mean you don’t know how to fix it?”
“Not better than they do, I’m sure. But I’ll go check.”
“Veer right,” Thor ordered.
“I cannot see the mines on the sonar,” the pilot said, though he obeyed the order. “All I see is ships coming for us. They were waiting for us. We’ve been betrayed!”
“Maybe they just noticed that mines were going off all over the place,” Jelena said.
“Why would there be mines, unless they were expecting someone to approach from this direction?” Masika asked.
“You don’t think they’ve got them all along their coastline?”
“That would be an ambitious project, given the length of coastline we saw as we flew over.”
If their team had been betrayed, did that mean the war minister had a spy in his office? One who had shared all the details of their meeting? Such as that Starseers were among the mercenaries coming?
“They’re going to start dropping depth charges soon,” the pilot told Thor.
“We’ll avoid them, but get us to land as quickly as possible. Is there a harbor you were planning to use?”
“We have orders to take you to the one twenty miles south of the city, and we’re not far from there now. There’s one in the middle of the city, but we’d be fired upon as soon as we surfaced there.”
“Where do you think they’ll expect us to land?”
The pilot shrugged. “We’re going to the same place we landed the last time we delivered spies.”
Spies? Jelena found it strange to have her team described so.
“So they’ll be expecting us,” Thor said. “Is there—veer left and up. Sharply. Now.”
Faint gurgles and a groan emanated from the hull as the pilot complied. A boom, this one a little different from the others, came from behind and under them. Jelena could sense the alarm of the sea creatures outside—most of them were fleeing. Those anchored to the sea floor far below felt even more fear.
“Depth charges,” the pilot groaned. “That was one of their ships dropping that. Can you do anything to divert their ships?”
“Possibly.”
Thor looked back at Jelena, his face highlighted by the glow of the sonar screen and the handful of blinking indicators in the cockpit. Did he want her opinion? Or her permission? That seemed unlikely.
“There are eight ships out there,” Erick called from the rear. “It would be hard to manipulate that many people in different places at once.”
“I was thinking of more drastic measures,” Thor said.
“Drastic would be excellent, yes?” The pilot altered their course.
Jelena wondered which harbor he’d decided to head toward.
“If we can destroy enemy ships while we’re here,” the pilot added, “the war minister should be most pleased.”
“Except that this is supposed to be a secret incursion,” Jelena said. How would they sneak in to rescue prisoners if the entire enemy nation expected them and was prepared? “And this isn’t our war, Thor,” she added quietly. “We don’t know who’s in the right.” Maybe neither side was. So far, she had no reason to have warm and snuggly feelings toward either continent.
“Part of becoming a mercenary is agreeing to fight on behalf of the nation who hires you, whether they’re in the right or not. War is rarely about right and wrong, regardless. It’s about protecting resources and conserving—or extending—ideologies.”
Another boom sounded, this one more distant. The submarine trudged onward, unaffected.
“Just get us to shore, please,” Jelena said. “If soldiers are there waiting for us, we’ll fight then if we have to.”
“With solid land under our feet,” Masika said. “Yes.”
“Not enjoying your submarine ride?” Jelena murmured. “I’m not sure it’s that different from being in space with someone firing at us.”
“I don’t have faith that the pilots are capable.”
“And you do have faith when you’re on the Snapper? I’m flattered.”
Masika growled an inarticulate response. It didn’t quite sound like agreement.
“I’ve detonated several mines a few miles away,” Thor said. “A couple of the ships are diverting to check it out. They now believe there are at least two enemy submarines out here.”
“Good idea,” Jelena said, pleased he’d come up with something that didn’t involve sinking ships or hurling tsunamis into them or whatever he’d planned.
Engine failures, he spoke dryly into her mind. I didn’t intend to make anyone blow up spectacularly.
Oh. She felt bad for assuming he’d had the delivery of death on his mind, but he had killed people in front of her eyes before, those mercenaries on Upsilon Seven and the guards in the Stellacor floating castle—not to mention one of the founders of the corporation.
To protect
you. The soft words came across as sad, or maybe disappointed that she didn’t understand. If people personally want you—or your friends—dead, sometimes, there’s not time to consider less lethal options.
Oh, she replied again, not having a better word. She felt honored that he wanted to protect her, but she wasn’t sure it was as simple and logical as that. He seemed to relish going into battle, and she hadn’t noticed that the killing bothered him.
My tutors made sure I was hardened to the realities of war, he informed her grimly. As to the rest, yes, sometimes it is pleasurable—or maybe cathartic is the term—to release your frustrations on your enemies.
I’m not unappreciative, just because I don’t agree, Jelena said.
I know.
The lights came back on, making Jelena blink. A whir and a thrum sounded in the rear of the vessel.
“We’re back online,” Erick said.
“The harbor is ahead,” the pilot said, not sounding that relieved.
“That’s supposed to be the empty harbor?” Thor asked.
“It is the one south of the city. There are few dwellings there, only some fishing docks.”
“There are ships in it. And at least a hundred men standing near those docks.”
“Then it’s true. We were betrayed. They expected us to come up there.”
“So how about we land somewhere else?” Masika asked.
“There are no other options that would bring you anywhere within fifty miles of the city, unless you want me to come up out at sea and you swim to shore. But there are many cliffs and no beaches in this area.”
Jelena grimaced at the idea of swimming through powerful ocean waves and currents that would knock them about. She’d had swimming lessons as a little girl, and had paddled through a placid pool on Upsilon Seven a few times, but she did not have faith in her ability to navigate ocean currents. What good would her Starseer talents be if she was dragged under and couldn’t breathe?
At least you could keep the sharks from eating you, Thor said into her mind. Assuming this planet has something like sharks.
I’m not sure, but some dolphins, or creatures similar to them, were following us earlier.
The words sparked an idea for her, and she laughed at herself. She almost dismissed it, but maybe it could work. Were the dolphins still anywhere around? Or had they been scared away by the ships and mines?
“Can you take us to a spot where we can get ashore without having to climb cliffs?” Jelena asked.
The pilot asked something in his own language. It sounded like a query about her sanity.
Dolphins? Thor asked silently.
Yes, if he was reading her thoughts, he could know what she had in mind.
Better than getting captured—or shot—as soon as the submarine comes up.
Masika will object.
No, she won’t. She has faith in my piloting skills.
You think those extend to guiding a pod of dolphins through the ocean?
Naturally.
“We are turning north and following the coast, but there are cliffs all along it.” The pilot sounded dubious about this course of action. “The waves are very choppy up there. Swimming will not be pleasant, and we do not have a life raft.”
“Just prepare to surface when you’re in a spot without any ships nearby,” Jelena said, figuring they could find a way to scale cliffs if necessary. Thor had levitated her over walls before. “Then get away and hide someplace safe. Come back for us at the original drop location at midnight in three days.”
The pilot looked up at Thor. “Are we supposed to follow her instructions?”
Jelena rolled her eyes.
“These people are as primitive as their machinery,” Masika muttered.
“Do it,” Thor told the pilot.
“What exactly are you planning, Jelena?” Erick asked, walking out of the engine area.
“I’m going to see if I can get us a ride to shore.” Jelena closed her eyes and stretched out, hoping to sense that same pod of dolphins. Not exactly dolphins, she decided, as she found them swimming on the outskirts of the area full of ships. They had a couple of extra fins, along with a ridge along their backs.
“We should be worried, right?” Masika asked.
“You’re learning quickly,” Erick told her.
Jelena ignored them, focusing instead on the dolphin-like creatures. She was surprised they hadn’t fled the area with the first mine explosion, or at least when the ships started dropping depth charges. While she watched them, one approached one of the mines. Alarmed, she tried to formulate a warning that would make sense to the creature, but she paused, realizing it was going to swim above the mine and shouldn’t clip it. No, wait. There was a rope attaching the mine to the buoy that Thor had mentioned. The dolphin slowed and sailed in, opening its mouth with careful precision. It clasped onto the rope, and Jelena cringed, imagining that the mine might explode at the slightest disturbance. But the dolphin barely moved the rope, carefully sawing with its teeth. The rope frayed and gave way. Detached from the buoy, the mine dropped into the ocean depths. It struck the sea floor about two hundred meters below and exploded. The dolphin heard it, but didn’t seem concerned about it at that distance. It veered back to its comrades and twirled as it approached, as if to brag that it had successfully eliminated one of the threats in their territory.
“I may have just discovered the most intelligent life on this planet,” Jelena said. At the least, the creature seemed brighter than the pilots and the war minister and his people.
“Is it in this submarine?” Erick asked.
“No.”
“That’s unfortunate. And insulting, don’t you think?” He raised his eyebrows at Masika.
“I feel insulted, yes.”
“We’ve moved away from the ships.” The pilot looked at Thor, seeming determined to report to him instead of anyone else—certainly not anyone else female. “They’re staying near the mouth of the harbor. They must feel certain we’ll come up there.”
Erick grunted. “It would be amusing if the harbor in the middle of the city was undefended, and we could simply sail into it unopposed.”
“It’s not,” Thor said. “I already checked.”
The pilot eyed him.
“A similar contingent of ships is stationed there, expecting trouble.” Thor pointed toward land. “Get us as close as you can. We have our packs with us. None of us wants a long swim.” He looked back at Jelena. “Or ride.”
She’d forgotten about their packs. They’d brought food and water, as well as a few medical supplies and some local currency. Carrying gear would make swimming more difficult, as would wearing her clothes and gripping her staff.
Dolphin friends, she said cheerfully to the one who had clipped off the mine. He seemed to be going for another one, and a couple of the others had caught the gist of the game and were doing the same. Let me show you another fun game, she offered, then, knowing they couldn’t understand her language, switched to sharing images with them instead of words. She felt bad trying to manipulate the creatures into helping, but maybe they would find it fun.
“We’re as close as I dare get us to the cliffs,” the pilot said. “You will need climbing gear if you intend to swim to shore here.”
“We’ll handle it. Just remember to meet us at midnight in three days.” There was a warning note in Thor’s tone.
Jelena, concentrating on enticing the dolphins to come visit, didn’t open her eyes to look at his face, but suspected his expression carried a warning as well. Maybe he was employing some mental coercion to make sure that when they parted ways, the pilots would have the idea that staying around would be a good idea. Jelena hoped it would work. She’d never heard of Starseers having much luck with long-term mental manipulation. Usually within a few minutes, people returned to their normal way of thinking. Hopefully, the pilots had indeed been ordered to stay and help. After all, the war minister wanted his leaders back, right?
Yes,
Thor told her, but they also didn’t have a lot of faith in us being able to retrieve them. These men’s orders are to return home if it becomes clear that we’ve failed.
How will they know?
If we don’t show up by midnight in three days, I suppose that will be a clue.
Jelena sensed the dolphins swimming toward the submarine. Excellent. She wasn’t sure if she’d conveyed the idea of them giving her team a ride yet, but at least they were coming to investigate. Earlier, they’d seemed certain the submarine could be a source for fun.
“Take us to the surface,” Jelena said.
The pilot looked to Thor for confirmation before acting.
“Looks like the closest ship is about a mile away,” Erick said. “We’ve got an opening. For what it’s worth. Those cliffs look to be a hundred meters tall, if not more.”
“Can I take this moment to say that it’s annoying to be the only one who doesn’t know what’s going on outside this tin can?” Masika asked.
“You’d only be alarmed if you knew.”
“I’m alarmed now.”
“You’d be more alarmed.”
“Our dolphin friends are almost here,” Jelena said.
“Want to share what that means for those of us who aren’t riding along in your head right now?” Erick asked.
“It means get your weapons and your gear. We’re going for a swim.” Jelena hurried to her bunk to grab her pack, glad she’d never opened it, so it was ready to go. She was less glad that she had been wearing the same underwear for the last three days, because there hadn’t been a private place to change, and she’d only brought one extra set of clothing along, anyway. The pilots had given her a blank look when she’d inquired about saniboxes or showers. Maybe this was a sample of what mercenary life was like.
The submarine rocked, startling Jelena.
“We’re on the surface,” the pilot said, as the craft continued to rock and bob up and down, now affected by the waves. “It wouldn’t be smart for us to stay long, yes?”
“Is that his subtle way of saying he wants us out of here as fast as possible?” Erick asked.
“Probably.” Jelena removed her earstar and stuck it in an inside pocket in her robe that closed with clasps. It would nestle next to a couple of ration bars in there, emergency rations in case she lost her pack during the swim. Lastly, she grabbed her staff and headed for the built-in ladder that rose to the hatch. Since this was her crazy idea, she ought to go first.
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