by C. Litka
05
I spent the watch designing a mounting for the three landing jets on the engine compartment bulkhead, and a shield to protect them, should we run into talon-hawks or dragons intent on making the gig a meal. Cin cut up the metal parts of unneeded and damaged gig fixtures, to feed to the printer as the raw material since the parts printer could not handle the D-matter hull metals.
We had put the inhabited island astern by the end of the watch and were enjoying our after dinner mug of cha on our sheltered "porch" in the vines when a bare white rock, surrounded by a swirling flock of large white birds and their hunters in half a dozen kayak-like boats drifted into view. The boats were tapering tubes with an open cockpit in the middle and likely made of tightly woven vines, since the hunters - broad-feathered people - were able to walk along the outside of their craft with their claw-like feet. Each boat had two oars with wide leather paddles latched alongside their hulls. They also had eight thin bamboo masts -two offset "X"s fore and aft of the cockpit, perhaps to keep modest sized dragons, talon-hawks at bay and/or to set sails from when air currents served. At the moment, the poles were being used for protection - supporting a tent of netting that enclosed the cockpit - a necessary precaution for their hunting.
The white island was home to hundreds, if not thousands of large two-meter-long birds - they seemed to have true wings, though they had claws on their wingtips and a beak with teeth. The hunters would fire one of their long guns with explosive bullets into the island, not to kill their prey, but rather to annoy them, setting the flock to flight screeching their outrage. Most of the birds would circle around the island before settling down again. Some, however, would swoop further out and aggressively attack the hunters in their boats, which seemed to be what the hunters wanted. These more aggressive birds would go after the hunters, tearing at the netting draped over the kayak's long masts allowing the hunters with long spears to stab the attacking birds in a spirited battle. I suspect the exploding bullets of their long guns would've left little to eat, so they hunted with spears instead.
Cin found it all quite picturesque. I less so. The kayaks were surrounded in a thin cloud of red blood after each round of combat, which rather put my Unity Standard appetite off a bit.
It was the end of my watch in the hammock. Siss was as annoying as ever, letting her tail brush over my face once she knew I was half-awake. She'd become even more annoying, since coming to my rescue, figuring she could get away with just about anything.
'Company,' Cin said quietly from the companionway.
Siss hissed and seemed reluctant to move, but I shrugged her off, alarmed. 'What?"
'Sounds like the beat of propellers. Close.'
I grabbed my darter and followed her up through the hatch. I could clearly hear the thumping beat of propellers and an engine. And then conversation as well. Looking up through the fresh green vines that now arched over the crater, I could catch glimpses of a boat through the leaves. We stood stock still, waiting to see if they'd look down - uncertain of what they'd see. We were pretty well hidden - the vines had regrown rapidly- but a glint of anything bright would certainly attract their attention.
Slowly the wide, pumpkin seed shaped boat drifted across the now overgrown crater to the thumping rhythm of a rear mounted propeller. Only after it had passed did I think to draw a breath again. Oh, we'd be safe enough in the gig, but without propulsion we'd be trapped if anyone set about to capture the gig.
Without a word Cin started up through the vines to get a better look.
I reluctantly followed her up - too curious to stay behind. We carefully poked our heads just far enough into the leafy upper layers of the tangle of new vines to catch a glimpse of the boat and its passengers. It was now nearly 100 meters beyond the island - a wide, nearly flat hulled boat with an arching wooden cage over it to protect its crew from both being swept off boat and any attacking dragon or talon-hawk. It seemed to have a small engine aft that was driving a whirling propeller and sported several rudders or wings for steering. It had a mixed crew of five - colorfully dressed broad and fine-feathered people.
A deeper thumping sound came from behind us. Twisting about, we found a much larger ship with a long tail of steam and smoke behind it approaching our island. It was still perhaps a kilometer off, but the thumping of her steam engine and the beat of her propellers stirred up our island's residents, sending them swirling into the air with shrill calls of alarm. Cin drew out her survey glasses and studied it for a while before handing them silently to me.
The vessel was shaped much like Vinden's warships, which is to say rather like an ocean going ship, with a wedge bow and flat sides. It had short wings on each side, each mounting a large propeller at their tip, with a steering rudder behind the propeller. It was six decks deep- the center two were enclosed and sported half a dozen ports with long barrels - cannons or rocket launchers - protruding from them. The two tall upper and lower decks and their deckhouses were entirely enclosed by metal gratings. They were near mirror images of each other, which is to say, that the crew on the upper decks where standing "heads up" while those on the lower deck were "heads down" all with their feet towards the center deck. Several small smoke stacks poked out of the grating on either side trailing their thin tendrils of smoke. A dozen small boats like the one that had just skimmed our island were secured on top of both the upper and lower decks. The ship was festooned with half a dozen large banners or flags, waving in the breeze of passage.
When viewed with the glasses it became evident that it was a slaver ship. The lower open decks contained a two deck high cage on either end that were packed with people - males in one, females in the other. All appeared to be broad-feathered. The deckhouse between them had one of the thin smokestack with a trail of smoke - likely the galley for the captives. It passed within half a kilometer of our island, so that we could see the type of people we were dealing with - a crew of mixed broad and fine-feathered peoples - all colorfully dressed and heavily armed - long knives, swords, and often sidearms as well, with ammunition belts crisscrossing their chests. Outside the gratings of each deck they had hung the heads of their conquered foes by their hair or feathers, the breeze carried the sour stench of the ship - the packed slaves and decaying heads - to us.
'Are they heading for home, or still raiding? They seem to be heading for that island we passed.'
'Hard to say. The slave cages looked packed,' replied Cin. 'Rather unpleasant looking people. Best be avoided.'
'Aye. Two against even a single slaver ship is not the best odds, no matter how primitive. We've only so many darts.'
'Two?' she asked softly.
'Well, three, with Siss.'
She gave me an icy look, 'Two, Litang. I wouldn't wait too long. I think I could carry on from here.'
'I think you might need to consider Siss in that program. She seems to think we're a crew, or is it family? If she is telepathic, as I'm sure she is, then she probably knows more about us than we care to admit to each other.'
She considered that for a moment and said, 'If she is telepathic, and if she is actually that sophisticated. Still, I rather think she's here just for the attention we give her. But in any case, I can do and will do what I need to do.' and lifted the glasses to her eyes, but not before I caught a glimpse of uncertainty in them. I said nothing as she watched the slaver until it faded into the distance.