by C. Litka
01
Captain KimTara and I arrived at the S&D Line's Tindetear office, where our charter party was already waiting.
A lanky, handsome, young fine-feathered man turned, smiled and starting eagerly forward exclaimed, 'Cousin Tara! Wonderful to see you again. It's been far too long!' He gave her a great bear hug and kissed her on both her cheeks.
I can't say for certain, since I was standing alongside of her, but I was left with the impression that she gave her cousin a fleeting hint of a smile or a grimace. Hard to tell. She stood like a statue while he hugged and kissed her.
'It is good to see you, cousin Dare,' she allowed. 'What are you doing here?'
He stepped back, still holding her in his outstretched arms and looked her over with a smile. 'You haven't changed. You look as competent as ever.'
'I hope so. Now answer my question.'
Turning to the rest of us, he said cheerfully, ignoring her question, 'Tara and I grew up together. She devoted her youth trying to keep me from doing stupid things, and failing that, as she often did, to keep me from getting caught and paying the consequences. She was the most useful cousin a fellow like me could ever have desired. Nothing phased Tara. She saw us through the tightest scrapes. So when I began to put my expedition together, I knew exactly who I wanted as captain.'
Turning back to her, he said, 'Now, to answer your question cousin, I have chartered the Lora Lakes and requested you for her captain. So you see, you have me to thank for your promotion, Tara. Of course you deserved it, but you know that old Captain BinNer would've kept you on as first mate forever, unless someone pried you away from him. He'd never willingly give up a first mate who ran the ship for him. But to the Infernal Island with old BinNer! I wanted the ever-resourceful Tara at my side, so I called on a few favors, and here we are.'
And then, turning to me and extending his hand, he added, 'Chief Engineer Wil Litang, I believe. I'm ValDare, of Val Studios Unlimited.'
'Happy to meet you, sir,' I replied, grasping his wrist.
'I've heard stories about you,' he added. 'Rumor has it that you've done more than sail a circuit around the islands. Tall tales that you come from a faraway island and have seen some action, pirates and the lot?'
I couldn't imagine how that gossip reached him.
'I've seen some, but not by choice, I assure you. And I can imagine how exaggerated the stories must have been by the time they reached you.'
He laughed. 'I intend to find that out as well. But, I wanted a fellow like you along as well. Not that I'm saying we're going to run into pirates or any real danger at all. I just like to be prepared.'
'It is good to be prepared. And better yet to avoid trouble if you can.'
'We're bound for an uncharted island that promises to be something amazing. It lays far beyond the Principalities, so I can't guarantee we'll not see a spot of trouble. Still, I expect nothing that Tara, a well-founded ship, and an experienced crew of explorers, can't deal with.'
I can see no further through a ship's hull than the next spaceer, or sailor, but I must admit I had that sinking feeling in my guts again. I'd felt it when Min talked of sailing the drifts, and many other times since then. My life had been too quiet, too long, for the Neb, or the Great Dragon, or who or whatever ran this place, to leave me alone. I have no idea what I did to deserve this fate, but whatever it was, it seemed I'd not yet paid my full dues for it yet. The only upside was that it would be Captain KimTara, not I, making the calls. Even on our short acquaintance, I didn't think she'd let cousin Dare do anything too foolish.
'What do you need a ship for?' she asked coolly.
'I'm filming a documentary and I needed a ship to get me to them. I'm afraid the details must wait until after we sail, I'll only say that it involves my usual passion - the myths and legends of the Saraime. I found that the Lora Lakes was available for as long as I needed it. So I collected my ever resourceful keeper, Tara and the rather mysterious Chief Engineer Wil Litang to run it. Rather than hand this project off to one of my producers to do the on-site shooting, I'm doing it myself. I'm greedy - it could be that important. But success is never guaranteed and not wishing to make a fool of myself by chasing a shadow, I'm keeping the details very hush-hush.'
'I need more than that,' said KimTara. 'I need to know what you've gotten me into. Again.'
'Well, then let's just say I've gotten wind of an unknown race of people living on an undiscovered island who may have living legends from the Dragon Kings' Age. Living legends from a very ancient age!'
'If someone knows of the island, it is not undiscovered,' she remarked drily.
He beamed. 'True. But as far as I know, I'm the only one who knows - or at least believes - the only fellow alive who knows about it, and can find it.'
'That I believe.'
'Ha! But you see, I'm the only one who recognizes its connection to a very obscure account of an ancient legend.'
'A wild dragon chase,' she said dismissively. 'You're old enough to know better.'
'I'll have you know, Tara, my dear, that while you've been off sailing, I've built a very nice little business by combining my passion for pre-Principality history, legends and myths with the entertainment business. I've financed and produced three well received documentaries that explore the sources of old legends. I know what I'm doing. Everything I do is backed up by a great deal of research. This project is no exception. It's no wild dragon chase, but dragons are involved. Or their guards, anyways.'
'On the basis of one sailor's yarn? Really, Dare.'
'There's much more than a sailor's yarn, though I'm certain his story is true. You see, the details of his story exactly match certain elements of a very obscure mythical story I've only recently stumbled onto myself. I don't see any way he could be aware of the connection. He's a small Donta Island sailor and since almost all my fellow mythological scholars are unfamiliar with this Desra Island prehistoric legend, I don't see how, or why, I could be conned into this.'
'And he can find this remote island again?'
'He has the so called, "sailor's sight," the talent...'
'Right. The sailor sight,' she sighed. 'You're spending all these coins on an old sailor with "the sailor's sight"?'
'I've tested it. I had one of my trusted aides take him, confined to a cabin, to a tiny island several rounds distant. And then on to another island, still confined to a cabin, just to make it harder. He proceeded to sail straight back to the tiny island he'd been taken to without any hemming and hawing. Scoff all you want about the talent, he has it.'
'The sailor's sight?' I asked. 'You mean he's a guide - someone who can find their way back to anywhere they've been?' Sailing aboard an S&D liner and not spending much time in port side dives meant that I hadn't come across any mention of old Glen Colin's talent in the Saraime.
'They claim they can,' said KimTara. 'Mostly small island traders who know the islands they sail, which probably explains it. But I take it you've run across them in your extensive travels?' She may've allowed a little sarcasm to slip into that last part.
'I sailed with a Cimmadarian who had that sight once.'
'Cimmadar. Another myth.'
'I've known people from Cimmadar, so I doubt that it's a myth. And I've seen one of them, known as a "guide" find a small island 80,000 rounds after the last time he'd been there. He said that they use this talent extensively in Cimmadar to guide ships. Cimmadar may lay in more active air currents, as he suggested even large islands change their positions over tens of thousands of rounds, so that charts are rendered obsolete relatively fast.'
'Thank you, Chief. Never mind Tara. Her skepticism will keep us from making too many mistakes,' beamed ValDare, and turning to her, added. 'As for the Chief - he's a fellow out of the myths and legends himself. A friend of mine, Scholar NenDre, met him aboard the Telrai Peaks, and they got to talking about ancient prehistory. Our Chief had a lot of interesting things to say on that subject and the greater skies beyond the frozen islan
ds, which NenDre passed along to me.
'For that reason alone I planned to track you down, Chief,' he added, in an aside to me. 'If half of what NenDre said you told him is true, you're going to be a Golden Isle of information on the Myths and Legends period. In any event, when this project came up, it occurred to me that I could kill two dragons with one slug by getting you as chief engineer for this voyage. We'll have weeks to discuss all the secrets of our ancient past that you've only hinted at knowing.'
'I doubt it. I know next to nothing about your myths and legends.'
'Myths, legends and the talent...' the KimTara muttered, shaking her head dismissively. I had likely fallen to crack-pot status in her opinion.
'Trust me, cousin dear...'
'Ha!' she sniffed.
He smiled. 'We'll not argue. So let's get down to business. I've my crew assembled and ready to sail. There'll be 13 of us all told. I have a prefab cabin section to house them in one of the holds, though the ship will have to do the catering so an extra cook might be in order. We also have two launches, a special one for my camera crew and the dragon hunting outfit I've hired as our field hands have their own as well. We'll need fuel and supplies for a voyage of 200 rounds - it might take less time, but better safe than sorry.
'How far out is this island?'
'Hard to say. A powerful serrata carried old DeArjen's trader to the island, and it took him a thousand rounds to make his way back in a small boat across the endless sky-sea. We should be able to do it in far less time, but 50-60 rounds each way might be a good estimate. We'll need extra fuel bunkers...'
The S&D agent spoke up. 'I'll see to that.'
'Good man, ClemRie. We want to be well prepared. Tara here will oversee everything, and I'll pay for everything she thinks necessary. That's why I insisted on having her. We can trust ourselves in her capable hands.
'And don't give me that look, Tara. I've seen it before and we've always come out just fine...'