Robots and Moon Rockets

by Mark Douglas Stafford

CHAPTER 4

  ONLY ONE LIFE TO GIVE

  Larry was cold and miserable and convinced it was entirely his fault. He huddled meekly on the tilted deck of the Interloper, despair hovering. Nobody had directly blamed him but some had looked in his direction then whispered to others. To Larry they seemed to be at the end of a dimly lit tunnel. He crawled into a corner, big brown eyes brimming with tears. He was shivering with cold and hopelessness. With his flags he had blindly relayed what he thought to be Flossy’s instructions and as a result the Hammer had collided full-tilt with Kidney Reef. He had been tricked. If only he had of thought to check first that Flossy was signalling and not the pirates. He could have signalled a question to which only she would have known the answer. He could have waited to see her clearly, just to make sure. He wouldn’t have had to wait long. If he had known it wasn’t her he wouldn’t have relayed the instructions and everything would be different. They would be chasing pirates instead of cowering in the dark. Flossy would be safe and they would be joining forces with the Ghost Fleet to chase down the last of the pirates.

  He should have known.

  All of the boats in the fleet had been badly damaged. Some had sunk to the bottom, others were smashed to pieces as they crashed into one another or were dumped on the reef. But at least all animals were accounted for and there had been no deaths. He couldn’t bare it if he was responsible for another’s death.

  Ava Ostrich was arranging a sling on a gorilla’s shoulder. Other animals were milling around or clustered in twos and threes talking quietly. Iscariot Snake had gone below with Captain Rhino. Now that Flossy was gone, the snake was in charge. Flossy hadn’t said anything bad about Iscariot but he knew she didn’t trust him. He had never heard anyone say anything bad about the big snake but neither had they said anything good.

  He raised himself up and looked out into the fog. The Ghost Fleet should have been here by now. But it was so dark and foggy it didn’t seem likely they’d be found, let alone rescued, before dawn.

  Back in his corner and hugging himself against the cold he thought back on what he’d learned about his parents from Ava. They had risked their lives to save a moose. But what had attacked his father and why had it left him bleeding in the snow? If it was a wild beast it would have eaten him, and his mother. If it was a proper person, why had it attacked? His mother and his father had held hands as they walked off into the blizzard. They had loved each another. His mother had kept his father alive by holding him through the night. He remembered his mother’s kind face and being tucked into bed. She had kissed him on the forehead and affectionately scratched the fur behind his ear. These were his last memories of her. He remembered his father with arms crossed standing in the shadowy doorway behind her. He wished he could remember what his father looked like. He knew they were still out there somewhere. They would be with all the other Lost Ones that had disappeared in the Troubles. They would be helping and trying to escape; to get back to him. They would be worried about him and hoping he was okay. They would remember him as a tiny chimp but know that he was now much older. And they would be proud of him, only they wouldn’t be. They would learn he was responsible for the failure of the Hammer’s mission. They would know that it wasn’t his fault but still see it as his responsibility that the disaster occurred. It was on his watch when he had the power to prevent the disaster, but he hadn’t. He had just done what Flossy had told him to do without thinking. They would comfort him but Larry would know what they were thinking: that they were ashamed he had failed everyone so badly. Everyone had relied on him and he had let them down. He had let Flossy down and now she had been taken by the pirates too.

   ‘Everyone gather around please,’ said Captain Rhino. ‘General Snake would like to say a few words.’

  Larry shivered and looked towards the helm. Animals were gathering in a rough crescent and lamps had been lit.

   ‘General!’ said Ava Ostrich, outraged. ‘When did Iscariot Snake become a general? Surely the Mayor didn’t make him a general. I know the Mayor, I’ve known him since he was a cub and I know that he would not have made him a general.’ Ava jerked about as she said this, looking at the other animals for support. Everyone just watched her silently.

  ‘Me and the other officers,’ the rhino said, pointing out the two gorillas standing stiffly at attention either side of the big snake, ‘asked Iscariot Snake to take charge. He agreed. End of story.’

  ‘But surely, only the Mayor should make such an appointment. I mean I’m not saying that Iscariot shouldn’t lead, but a general? He’s a waiter at the Stinging Nettle, not a general. He’s one of my staff—and not even a very good one, we don’t get many smaller sized customers when he’s rostered on—and his possible involvement in the Troubles should, I think…’

  ‘That’s enough Ms Ostrich!’ said the Rhino, growling. ‘General Snake will now speak.’

  ‘Thank you, Captain Rhino,’ said the big snake, tongue flicking. ‘As you will no doubt have realised, the Ghost Fleet has been delayed or is not coming.’

  The animals murmured anxiously to one another.

  ‘This should not be cause for any great alarm. I assure you we are quite safe here. The Interloper will not sink and but for a storm, which is unlikely, will not break up on the reef during the night. There is shelter below and food and water was recovered so you will not perish from cold, thirst or hunger.’ Iscariot slithered to one side and rose up. Some of the animals nearby grew rigid, others shrank back. The tilting deck and piles of rubble didn’t impede the big snake in the slightest. He appeared perfectly at home, as if he knew his way around. ‘One of our boats may still be made seaworthy. Even now, others of us are working to repair the Fat Crab so it might make the return trip to Port Isabel, tonight.’

  The animals murmured and buzzed with anticipation. Each wanted to be chosen as a member of the crew so they might return as quickly as possible. Each wanted to be with loved ones and safe again at home.

  ‘Quiet! The General hasn’t finished,’ growled Captain Rhino.

  ‘Thank you, Captain.’ The big snake arranged his coils. ‘I know that each of you would like to be home but the Fat Crab is slow and loading it with too many will make it slower still. Because it’s dark and dangerous to sail the Gulf at night—don’t forget there are pirates in these waters—I will go and personally make arrangements for your safe return.’

  One of the gorillas standing behind the snake chimed: ‘But we can’t ask you to risk your life for us, General!’ To Larry, he sounded wooden; as if he was following a script.

  ‘You are not asking, friend,’ replied the snake smoothly. ‘I am giving freely because my life is nothing compared with the safety of my fellow citizens and the future of our fair town. My only regret is that I have but one life to give.’

  At his words, a cold breeze gusted across the deck causing the wet animals to shiver in the flickering torchlight and huddle together more closely.

  ‘Captain Rhino and his fellows will travel with me. Together, and at great personal risk, we will fly through the night. In the morning the Ghost Fleet will arrive to do what was always intended. By tomorrow afternoon—should things go as you reasonably expect—you will all be safely joined with loved ones back in Port Isabel. And by tomorrow night you will be tucked up in your warm beds or cosy stables, wiser for the adventure and for the good fortune of your escape.’

  The animals buzzed with happiness at Iscariot’s words. Even Larry felt reassured that someone was taking charge and that in just a little while things would be back to normal; that there was a strong chain-of-command despite the disaster.

  ‘Three cheers for General Snake!’ one of the soldiers called out.

  ‘Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray!’ everyone cheered, teeth chattering.

  Larry watched silently from his dark corner.

  ‘Now to some unpleasant business,’ the snake said, hissing. ‘It will not have escaped your notice that toady we w
ere betrayed by the House of Human.’

  ‘I can’t believe it! What evidence do you have?’ said Ava. She had stepped forward and was fearlessly looking up at the towering snake. ‘She’s just a human child, barely out of the nest.’

  The big snake lost his temper and darted at Ava, fangs bared, nostrils flaring. Captain Rhino sidled between them and faced Ava. ‘You will address him as General Snake, or General,’ he said.

  Iscariot’s frown melted away. ‘That’s alright Captain. Ava and I have known each other for many years. I will allow a little latitude in her case.’

  The rhino stepped aside and Iscariot slid forward so his unblinking, onyx eyes were level with Ava’s. ‘You ask a very good question Ms Ostrich, and one I am only too pleased to answer. My evidence, though it is of a circumstantial nature, is none-the-less sufficiently persuasive to convince all but her co-conspirators, and those others of us she has wholly deceived, that she is indeed guilty of treachery and acting on behalf of the House of Human.’ The snake paused to arrange his coils before continuing. His tongue flicked out menacingly. ‘The human was in league with Pirate Pratt all along. I sensed it from the beginning but have only this afternoon found proof that she is, as she first appeared to us, a dread pirate. While you were flying towards the deadly reef at her behest she ordered me to come aboard the Interloper on the pretence of reconnaissance. Her true motive was much darker: she was conspiring to ensure your demise and make her escape. From this very spot I saw her sailing away in the Windrush with two evil-looking dogs, one on her left, the other on her right. Her hand was on the tiller.’

  Anger flashed across the deck as the substance of the snake’s claim was understood. Iscariot Snake had seen Flossy flanked by pirates and her hand was on the tiller. There was loud grunting, stamping, braying and snarling as each came to the realisation they had been betrayed by the human child.

  Larry’s eyes grew wide in disbelief, his mouth open. Flossy hadn’t betrayed them. She had been tricked by the pirates herself, like they all had.

  ‘You must all see that things started to go awry as soon as she arrived in Port Isabel,’ said the snake. ‘She pretended to be the hapless victim but always was in fact Pirate Pratt’s willing accomplice and chief saboteur. She goaded us into a fever of frenzy until we burned down our own precious museum. Where was she when Harry Possum and Sally Sloth were kidnapped? I will tell you: she was arranging it!’

  On the tilted and slippery deck of the wreck the animals screeched, roared, hooted and growled angrily. Some of the monkeys leapt into the tangled rigging above and began casting down whatever they could find.

  ‘Be calm, my friends,’ called out the big snake. ‘Never fear, but we will have our revenge. We will make Pirate Pratt and Pirate Fairweather pay for their treachery a thousand times over.’

  ‘But she’s only a child,’ said Ava, weakly. Larry was just able to hear her over the braying of the angry crowd.

  ‘Have you ever heard of a child of any House stand fearlessly before a roaring lion with her sword drawn?’ the snake asked. ‘What about a child singlehandedly defeating a fully grown mountain gorilla on a slippery rooftop, in the dark?’

  Larry noticed that the gorilla, the one wearing the white sling and standing next to Ava, looked abashed as the snake said this.

  Iscariot looked slyly at the gorilla. ‘What’s your name?’

  ‘Ah, Sergeant Gerry Gorilla, sir.’

  ‘You will address him as General, sergeant!’ commanded Captain Rhino.

  ‘That’s alright. My title is new and Sergeant Gorilla is one of Port Isabel’s heroes. We should accord him all respect and honour for his service to our fair town. He did, after all, survive an encounter with the worst of Pirate Pratt’s agent provocateurs.’ He looked at the gorilla as if measuring him up for a suit. ‘Are you considered small by the standards of your House, sergeant?’

  ‘Ah, no…’

  ‘Are you, perhaps, a little weaker than the average Gorilla?’

  ‘No, sir… I mean General, sir,’ replied the sergeant.

  ‘Would you shy away from a fight with an animal a tenth your size and half your height? Are you a coward, sergeant?’

  ‘No, General!’ said Gerry defiantly. He took a step forward.

  ‘I didn’t think so,’ said Iscariot Snake turning back to the huddled crowd. ‘In a matter of a few short minutes this large, strong and courageous gorilla was bested by the human. Ava Ostrich would have us believe she is merely a child, an innocent victim of Pirate Pratt and his rag-tag crew. Yet, the first thing she does upon arriving in Port Isabel is pick a fight and in so doing effortlessly disables this trained soldier in equal combat. Are these the actions of an innocent child or a helpless victim? Does anyone here still believe she is not in cohorts with Pirate Pratt?’

  ‘No!’ the animals called out in unison.

  Hearing no dissenting voices, Iscariot smiled wisely. ‘And I ask you, can a child lead a navy? Can a child plan and strategize as has this human?’

  ‘But maybe human children are different from the children of other Houses,’ said Ava, uncertain.

  ‘Yes, they are different. Let us consider what we know about the House of Human. Our ancestors couldn’t live with them so they drove them out of the known world. They are cannibals and they wear the skin of slaughtered animals that they remove before their victims are dead. Pirate Fairweather shows us we need to be wary of her whole House. If this is what a human child is like, imagine a full grown adult. They should be feared and the evil, vermin-race exterminated.’

  A shiver of blood-lust rippled through the crowd reminding Larry of the riot in Town Square. The monkeys began leaping overhead and casting things down again. Others stamped, screeched, growled or howled.

  The big snake rose up, his smile so wise and reassuring that all instantly fell silent. ‘No, we were betrayed by the human. She came into Port Isabel dressed as a pirate for the simple reason that she is one. What better way to fool us! She wormed her way into our affections to fulfil her part in Pirate Pratt’s dastardly plot. Our great Mayor,’ he spat as he said this, ‘even put her in charge of this disaster. She knew there were no pirates out here as she knew there was no safe channel through Kidney Reef. She used the cover of fog to wreck the Hammer. It was a brilliant tactic that Mayor Lion utterly failed to anticipate. He should have known what we all knew in our hearts to be true, that humans cannot and should not be trusted. Mayor Lion failed us completely. He failed to control the crowd on the fateful night the museum burned. He failed to heed the warning when pirates invaded our fair town. He congratulated the human for her bravery and then made her, a pirate no less, the leader of a force to fight pirates. The magnitude of his stupidity must appal you as it does me. The magnitude of his stupidity is only equalled by the human’s own treachery. The extent of his failure to fulfil a mayor’s most basic duty—to provide wise and decisive leadership—must make your blood run cold, as it does mine. He looks fierce and wise but Mayor Lion is a clown and a buffoon.’

  The animals, who had nodded in support throughout Iscariot’s speech, now broke into applause. Some stamped their hooves, others clapped hands. Each cheered in the manner of his or her own House.

  Larry had heard enough. He knew Flossy wasn’t a pirate. He had sensed from the beginning that she was trustworthy and courageous, even noble. He couldn’t argue against what Iscariot had said but he knew in his heart that Flossy wasn’t in league with the pirates; that she wasn’t a pirate. There must be some other explanation fitting the facts.

  He climbed over wreckage to the side of the ship. From the railing he could see the reef as a dark shadow below. There was little light and fog covered them thickly, like a blanket. He could hear the gentle lap of waves against the Interloper’s tilted hull. He looked down with big, curious eyes and saw, not far below the surface, a glint of gold. It might be spilled treasure or maybe some piece of reflective metal. The shallow waves made it wobble as if it was encased in jell
y so he climbed over the railing and down to see better. When he reached the water he dropped.

  It was cold in the water. He took his bearings, held his breath and pushed downwards toward the golden light. There was a lot of wreckage below, including tangled rope. He swam around the worst of it, keeping his round eyes fixed on the strange golden light. As he approached, he was surprised to see that what looked small from above was in fact quite large. It was oval-shaped like a shallow bowl, but upside down. It had four stumpy protrusions spread evenly around its rim and a fifth on one end.

  Larry kicked deeper and turned so he was the right way up. The gloomy water made it hard to see clearly but the thing appeared to be made from golden metal. It was tangled in one of the ship’s fallen vales; the rope ladder used to climb a mast. He was running out of air but still had enough to risk swimming a little closer.

  It was a Golden Turtle. The protrusions were four flat flippers and a narrow head. The inverted bowl was its shell. If it wasn’t gold in colour, he would have thought it was a real turtle. By the way it pulled down on the netting he could see it was heavy, too heavy for him to lift without help.

  A stream of bubbles rising nearby shifted his attention towards the dark wall of the reef. There were shadows moving purposefully across its surface. A shark glanced past, hungry eyes glaring, mouth overflowing with razor sharp teeth. In fright, he released the last of his air.

  On his way back up to the shimmering surface, Larry noticed the strangest thing. The turtle’s unnatural eyes, which looked like circles within circles, swivelled to follow him. It wasn’t a trick of the light. The turtle was still alive.