by Sarina Dorie
He certainly behaved like a man. Perhaps I had been mistaken.
“You undressed me, ne?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Pardon me. I’m not like that, Miss Sumiko. I’m a proper gentleman, I am, at least in that sense. I had to get your robe off to put it in the wash, so you wouldn’t spell of vomit. I suppose it’s not the most proper thing to tell a lady, that she smells, but there it is.” He averted his eyes again, reminding me of Meriwether in his prudishness.
“That was quite practical of you,” I said. “I would have done the same. I am prey on this ship and I wouldn’t want the predators to find me by my smell.” I smiled to show I wasn’t offended.
Eli smiled too and sighed in relief.
“Did you at least take your time dressing me so you could admire me in all my beauty?” I teased. I tossed back my head, but immediately wished I hadn’t, as it made a hammering start up in my temples.
Eli shook his head and blushed. “I told you, I behaved gentle-man like. I wouldn’t stare at an unconscious woman and take advantage of her like that.”
“Such a shame gaiyojin are so afraid of nakedness.” I used the polite term for off-worlder, not that he would know the difference. “I could take off my clothes and let you stare at me now that I’m awake, if you’d like.” I tried to keep my face straight as I said it, but seeing his mortified expression, I couldn’t do it. I burst out laughing. Gaijin were so fun to tease.
After another solid meal I was myself again. I moved about with ease, but I stayed behind the curtains of Eli’s tent so no one would spot me. Not that anyone came in. He brought me my red attush to change into when it was clean and I did so. There was no reason to stay. No logical reason. Yet I found myself doing so anyway.
“Tell me about your world,” Eli begged with nectar in his voice.
I smiled, flattered anyone should find me so interesting. “What do you wish to know?”
“Everything. I want to know what your life was like.”
“I used to live in the jungle. When my mother was with my family I called her Hapo. The rest of the time my mother was Nipa. That is our word for leader. She was very severe and she wore a mask and she became a different person when she was Nipa.
“My world was warm and there was always enough to eat. You couldn’t walk out into the jungle and not come across a juicy sugar fruit or ume or sakura.” I sighed, thinking of those faraway days.
“It sounds like paradise.”
“It was, but then the gaiyojin came.” I used the polite term for his people again. Even if he wouldn’t know the difference, I would. “Some of them meant well. William Earnshaw-san and his small tribe didn’t try to steal the things from the world. They traded like Jomon do. Earnshaw-san tried to tell his American leaders about my people so we wouldn’t be extinguished, but more came and they weren’t like him.”
“I think you mean extinct. The people off planet wanted to make your people extinct for their resources.”
“Yes, that is the word. They wanted red diamonds and other such things. But Earnshaw-san died for his troubles at Klark-san’s hands. I mean, Lord Klark, not his son. Meriwether-san was just a boy at the time. He had nothing to do with it. Earnshaw-san’s daughters were orphaned. Lord Klark kidnapped one from the planet, but he didn’t know about Faith-chan. I’m glad he didn’t know about her because he couldn’t hurt her. I kept her safe.” I sighed. “Until now. Everything is harder in space, ne? Have you heard anything about Meriwether-san?”
Eli bit his lip. “I may have peeked in the hospital.”
“How does he fair?”
“It’s hard to say. He was bandaged up and unconscious. I don’t think he’s going to look so pretty when he heals.”
I nodded. At least he was alive. “And Faith-chan?”
Eli shook his head. “I can’t ask without bringing attention to myself. All I’m supposed to do is stay in my bloody engine room and keep an eye on the machines. Plus, build stuff. I’m always supposed to be building one infernal device or another for that blasted toe-ragger, Commander Bleu.”
“Toe-ragger?” I laughed. That sounded very bad. I liked the way it rolled in my mouth. I wanted to call Jacques that one to his face.
Eli smiled. “He likes to keep me busy. Idle hands are the devil’s tools. I think I’ve only been given a bit of rest the last day or so because I told him I feared the prototype might not react well with this newer engine and had to be watched.”
“What is prototype?” I asked.
“The prototype. It’s a kind of machine that improves our current technology in space travel.”
“Uh! You gaiyojin and your machines. Everything has to be a machine. No one knows how to cook or clean or walk. Your robots and engines do it all for you.”
Eli scratched his chin. “Aye. Although, Lord Klark was always old-fashioned about machines. He wanted them for business, but at home, he employed as many real people to scrub the floors as he did automotons. Said the maids did a better job and put more heart into it.”
“How do you know how Lord Klark liked his floors cleaned?” I waited for Eli to admit he knew the Klark family in some way, but he didn’t. It didn’t matter. I would find out eventually. I was patient.
“Never you mind. The point is, you’re right. Too many barmy folk like robots for things they can bloody well do on their own.”
I smiled. I liked someone agreeing with me for once. No one ever did that at home.
He went on, “But tell me, can you walk to the stars? Can you get from here to your home by traveling on the back of a beast? Great engines are needed for that. Your people were the ones who built those machines, thousands of years ago. That’s how you came to be on that world.”
“Ei! No, my people came to Aynu-Mosir by riding in the belly of a tatsu,” I said with more vehemence than I intended. Of course, the word for dragon was also the word “build.” Could we have built dragons? I dismissed the thought. The word tatsu also meant “erection.” I doubted we had traveled across the stars in a dragon’s chin-chin. Maybe we had traveled to our planet in something we had built, not a dragon.
Eli shrugged. “As you like, love. Just know, not all machines are evil. Not all of them are meant to destroy.” He took my hands in his and looked into my eyes.
The anger deflated from me. I was unnerved how he seemed to see me so well. I swallowed. “I must be very . . . like the window.”
“Transparent?”
I nodded. It was hard not switching into Jomon whenever I didn’t know a word like I did with Faith.
“I don’t build machines to destroy worlds or kill folk,” Eli said. “Of course, I also have no control over what they get used for. I like to create machines, simple as that. They make sense to me more than most people. A machine doesn’t judge you, they don’t. Automatons don’t care one jot if you are a man or a woman. They don’t stop you from replacing a belt if your skin color is too dark or too light.”
I knew about women’s roles being different in gaijin culture, but I didn’t know what skin color had to do with it. “Your machines are different from others I’ve seen.” I looked toward the humming engine. It sounded like a happy chiramantep cub in sleep. “I think you give them your kamuy.”
“There’s that word again. Kamoooey.” He stretched the word out, trying to say it.
I fell back laughing. He fell back too. We were both so busy enjoying each other’s company that neither of us heard the door swish open until it was too late.
“Boy, where are you hiding?” a booming voice shouted.
“Blimey! Just looking for my wrench.” Eli leapt to his feet and rushed away.
I scrambled to find something lethal if I needed it. The butter knife from lunch would hardly do. I no longer had Eli’s scrap metal knife. I’d lost it in the hallway, fighting with Meriwether on the way to Faith’s quarters.
“I heard you talking. Who were you talking to?” a French soldier demanded.
“No one, I swear it.
Just talking to myself. Where’d my wrench go this time? I asked myself. I’m such a gooseberry. I must have left it with my lunch. I started laughing, I did.” Eli forced a laugh as if to prove it.
I found a hefty chunk of metal on the floor. It was fashioned to be some kind of tool, though what it was for, I couldn’t imagine. I cocked it back, ready to smash it into the man’s face had I need to.
“Commander Bleu wishes your presence on the bridge,” the Frenchman said.
“Oh, does he now? If that be the case, why didn’t he send me a message? I think you’re just making that up so you can poke around in my things. Liable to go poking in the wrong place and ruin the engine like the last bloke did. You never seen the commander so enraged. Took me near a week to mend the blasted engines. These be temperamental mistresses, I’ll have you know.”
The Frenchman snorted. “The commander did send you a message. Go check the comm.”
“I think I will.” There was a pause before Eli muttered, “Blimey. Didn’t hear it none.”
“No.”
I leaned forward with interest.
“Well, I can’t very well leave the engines likes they are. They’re very finicky. Don’t know how the engine will react at any given moment.”
“I’m sure I can watch them for you.”
He wasn’t fooling the Frenchman. I waited, poised to strike.
“No, that won’t do at all.” Eli’s voice rose an octave, making him sound more feminine than he probably wished. He cleared his throat. “Excuse me a sec. Think I’ll call the commander first.” He cleared his throat. “Commander, I was busy tinkering on the new contraption. You know how it is when you’re in the midst of—” Pause. “Yes, sir.” Pause. “Sorry, sir. But . . . couldn’t you come here, so I don’t have to leave the engine by her lonesome?”
I didn’t know which was worse, the idea of this “toe rag” being in the engine room and finding me, which of course meant I’d have to attack and find a way of disposing him without being seen. Or risk allowing Jacques finding me instead.
Chapter Nineteen
Fall down nine times. Get up ten.
—Ancient Jomon proverb
I darted toward a cluster of parts that looked like a chair fashioned out of a junk pile. It hid the robotic servant entrance from view and it was no coincidence this was where Eli had moved his newest invention. I lifted the door and dove through. The heavy piece of metal in my hand clunked inside of the metal passage.
“What’s that?” the French soldier asked.
“Nothing.”
“I heard something.” The Frenchman’s voice was closer.
Iya! After being so careful, I’d given myself away. The metal weapon was too thick and heavy to carry in my mouth like I had with the knife. I shoved it down the front of my attush between my breasts. It was cold and I regretted thrusting it there, but it wasn’t like I had many other options. At least the belt kept it in place. I crawled backward so I would be facing my pursuer if he came looking for me. I could throw the metal that way at least.
“What’s this pile of merde?” Something came crashing to the ground.
“You barmy fool! That’s my invention. Do you know how many days it took me to create that? Wait until the commander hears about this! You blasted, bloody bootlicker!”
“What’s behind this curtain?”
“Nothing. Nothing, I said. You get away from there. That’s my private space. No, I said no!” Panic laced his tone.
“Oh,” the Frenchman said disappointed.
“Oh,” Eli said in relief.
Something whirred and clicked behind me. I turned my head over my shoulder to see a robotic maid coming. Of all my luck. The machine bumped up against my behind and used a brush to clean it.
I didn’t know my way about the ship though the robotic servant corridors well. Certainly I knew how to get to the brig, but I doubted that was where either Faith or Meriwether was being kept. I explored, noticing some places were uncomfortably cold or hot, but not so much so that it would kill me. I listened at exits to people speak in French, which did me little good, other than to warn me to remain quiet.
At last I found the hospital. When I lifted the door a crack, I saw the bed where I suspected Meriwether rested, but I couldn’t see any higher than the doctor’s shin. I waited longer for the doctor to leave, but other men came to stand guard.
I moved on, hoping to find Faith. Many rooms were dim, but not so dark that I couldn’t make out enough to tell me they were vacant or occupied. All the uninhabited rooms were plain, most lacking furniture, as Meriwether had left much on Aynu-Mosir. It was easy to recognize Faith’s quarters with the pink ruffled bed covers and hoopskirt lying on the floor in a heap with her petticoats. I listened carefully, noting the shallowness of her breath.
Fabric rustled, but it wasn’t the sound I’d come to recognize from her fancy dresses. Something scuffed against the floor and a man coughed. Someone was in there with her, either guarding her or sitting in wait for me. I remained at my post. Eventually someone else came in, replacing the first man. I waited longer to ensure no one did anything to harm Faith.
I needed a plan, but I didn’t know what to do. We were in space. This environment wasn’t my strength. My abilities lay in quick thinking and action. My fighting teacher, Tomomi Sensei, often told me there were times when doing nothing was doing something. Patience was the warrior’s greatest asset. I hated being patient.
I wanted to hit something.
A robotic maid whirred toward me. Its red eye illuminated the corridor, casting the metallic frame in a harsh light that reminded me of a scene bathed in blood. It stopped in front of me, slowly spun and something inside it clicked. This machine didn’t ram me like the rest and I had the sense it was different from the others. For the briefest moment I thought I sensed a kamuy within it.
A little door popped open. Steam came out of from the drawer. I lifted my head and peered inside. The aroma was tantalizing. A mug filled with some kind of hot fluid and a bowl of food were held within.
I still couldn’t tell if it had a soul, but I didn’t want to be rude and offend it if it did. I bowed to the robot as best I could to show my appreciation. It remained motionless as I took out the food. On the tray was a piece of paper with scribbles I recognized to be writing. It was swirly, elaborate script that reminded me of the spiral designs on our tapestries. I couldn’t read the writing, but it was pretty to look at.
I recognized the drawings on the other side of the paper to be a map of the ship. There were four drawings, each a different floor. Little boxes in each drawing looked like they represented various quarters. Some rooms were starred. I couldn’t tell if this meant something good or something bad. I tucked the paper into my long sleeve.
The map could only have come from one man. If there was one person on the ship capable of giving a machine a soul, it was Elijah Harris. That was who I went to see next.
I lifted the door enough to get in a good look at the engine room. Eli sat amidst his pile of metal parts, sorting and fitting pieces together like he was playing matchmaker. I couldn’t see around the engine in the center of the room and couldn’t tell if guards were there.
“Are we alone?” I whispered.
Eli continued fitting two pieces together, not looking up. He breathed out the faintest of replies. “Did you not read my note?” His lips barely moved as he spoke, a useful skill I wished I had.
“I can’t read.”
“We’re alone, but being watched most likely. The only reason I can guess the commander would call me away from my duty is to plant a spying device. You understand?”
“Yes.”
“Come back later after I have a chance to look for it again. I need to make some progress on this first.”
Patience, I told myself. He was the only person I could trust at the moment. And possibly his contraptions.
I followed the robotic maids for an entire day. In doing so, I learned I was safest w
hen following their schedules. The clicking of gears and whirring of their miniature engines masked any sound I made. They almost always exited from their hallway at night or when the occupants of rooms were at rest or the room was empty. This allowed me chances to look out and study the rooms, and sometimes to go out and steal provisions.
I still didn’t know what my plan was yet, but I knew it would involve Eli.
I waited hours before I peeked into the engine room again. Eli wasn’t at his station with his metal parts. I opened the door wider and poked my head out. A shifting shadow caught my eye. I reached into my attush for the metal tool and readied it in my hand should I have need of it. There was a gap between the red privacy curtain and the wall where I spied him. Eli washed himself and changed. He wore a yellowing bandage around his chest and back, wrapped around him so many times he was covered from armpit to just above his belly.
Even with his injury, his body was beautiful and graceful, as lithe and lean as the body of a tatsu.
“Can I come out?” I whispered.
He stood bolt upright and turned. “Blimey, I thought I was alone.” He hurriedly pulled his shirt over his head. “Hasn’t your ma ever told you it’s rude to spy on a gent as he undresses? Or a lady for that matter.”
“My mother is dead. She was killed by the gaijin machines.”
“Oh. Sorry. I didn’t know.” He moved back from the opening in the curtain and finished dressing. “We’re safe as far as I can tell. Wait ’til you get a look at the bloody device they planted.”
I crawled out of the vent. He rushed from behind the curtains and pranced over to a workbench of tools where he fetched a contraption as large as Faith’s purse. It reminded me of a tangle of eels in mating season, only this thing looked more dangerous. And less palatable.