Mutineer

by Sutherland, J. A.

  No, there’s no telling what Neals will do if I’m not aboard.

  “Mister Lain?”

  “Sir?”

  “Take the best gun we have — one that’s not likely to destroy our own ship if it’s fired, that is — take it to the stern gallery along with the gunner and whatever shot you can find. I find this pursuit troublesome and should like it slowed. A few bolts into his sails, perhaps, once in range?”

  Lain nodded. “Aye, sir. I’ll see it done.”

  “Lain,” Alexis said. “Be sure it’s into his sails, I don’t …”

  Lain nodded again. “Aye, sir. I understand.”

  Alexis returned her gaze to the plot, jumping in surprise when she noticed Lain at her side again. She hadn’t thought so much time had passed.

  “All set, sir,” he said. “Coad and Lufkin are on the gun. They’ll aim fer his sails when you order it.”

  “Thank you, Mister Lain.”

  “Sail!”

  Alexis rushed to the tactical console. “Where away, Scholer?” she asked, staring at the image.

  “Fine on the port bow, down twenty, sir. Large sail.” He ran his fingers over the image, tracing three blobs of light. “I make it a frigate, sir.”

  Alexis almost cried out with relief. “Port ten, down fifteen, Mister Lain.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  The frigate surely belonged to her own Navy, there couldn’t possibly be two Hanoverese ships this deep in New London space, and it would see Trau Wunsch soon if it hadn’t already. All she had to do was keep sailing closer and the pursuing ship would find itself well outmatched. Delaine’s ship.

  “Make a signal to the frigate, Silk,” she said. “Enemy In Sight and keep it flying.”

  “They won’t be able to read it for a bit, Mister Carew, should I wait so the Hannie don’t see —”

  “Fly it now,” Alexis said quietly. She closed her eyes. I do not bluff, Delaine.

  “Aye, sir.”

  She waited, trying not to count the minutes.

  “The Hannie’s come about, sir. She’s running.”

  Alexis released a breath she hadn’t been aware she was holding and opened her eyes. Had she done the right thing? No matter, it was done. If there were consequences she’d accept them.

  “Take down Enemy In Sight, Silk. It’ll do that frigate no good now.” She saw Lain staring at her. “There are many duties, Mister Lain. The path between them is not always clear, it seems.”

  Lain nodded. “You’re sure it were ‘doe’ he called you and not t’other?”

  Alexis smiled. “Quite sure.”

  “Glad he’ll get away, then. Good man, that Frenchie lieutenant.”

  “Yes.” She watched the line of the other ship’s retreat on the plot for a moment. “Silk, make Request Assistance, if you please, and prepare the signals to explain our state to that frigate.” She grimaced. “And I suppose I should send someone to inform Captain Neals that he is rescued.”

  * * * * *

  Given Trau Wunsch’s condition, the approaching frigate, H.M.S. Vestal, ordered her to heave-to and leave it to the frigate to maneuver into range for docking. The larger ship unstepped her foremast and settled along Trau Wunsch’s port side before extending a boarding tube.

  Alexis made her way to the crowded mess deck and port airlock. Neals and the other officers were there waiting as well, but none of them acknowledged her presence. “Captain Neals …” she began, but stopped. What could she say, really? He’d hated her before and their flight from Giron would certainly not have improved his opinion of her. Come to that, she despised him as well — perhaps the best that could be hoped for was that they’d all be sent off to different ships now and never meet again.

  The lock cycled and the hatch slid open to reveal a party of marines, spacers, and a lieutenant from Vestal. He took a step forward then actually rocked back on his heels, a grimace of disgust on his face.

  Yes, I suppose we are a bit ripe. Though large for cargo, Trau Wunsch had been designed for a much smaller crew. Alexis and the others were used to it by now, but it must come as a shock to someone boarding for the first time.

  Alexis stepped forward with a smile. “Welcome aboard, lieutenant. I must say we’re quite glad to see you.”

  “Enough, Carew!” Neals stepped forward as well. “Is this enough to satisfy your ‘honor’, Lieutenant Williard?”

  “Yes, sir, I think we may safely say our parole is at an end.”

  “Good enough,” Neals said. “Come aboard, lieutenant.”

  “Lieutenant Lakes, sir,” the officer from Vestal said, breathing through his mouth as he entered the ship. His men entered as well, struggling to find space on the crowded deck.

  Neals stepped past him and stood in the lock’s hatch, turning to face the mess deck. Lakes turned to face him, clearly puzzled. “Captain?”

  Neals locked eyes with Alexis and she slumped. No … it’s not over, is it?

  “Arrest them, Lieutenant Lakes,” Neals said.

  “Sir?”

  “Every man-jack of them, this instant.” Neals raised a hand to point at Alexis. “But especially that one.” He smiled. “The charge is mutiny.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  “Be seated and come to order! Captains Crandall, Hazlewood, and Barks presiding in the Court Martial of Ordinary Spacer Alexis Arleen Carew! Charged in violation of the Articles of War!”

  Alexis seated herself and looked around the compartment that would serve as courtroom for her trial. The three Post Captains who would be acting as judges sat against the far wall, resplendent and severe in their full dress uniforms. She knew Captain Crandall from her brief meeting aboard his ship, but nothing about the others, save what her defense counsel, Lieutenant Humphry, had told her, and that next to nothing. She knew little more about Humphry himself, as she’d only seen the man three times in the week she’d been back aboard Penduli Station.

  In fact, she’d spent more time with Lyulph Grandy than she had with the lieutenant appointed to represent her. Grandy, who couldn’t even be in the courtroom, as space was reserved solely to naval officers, had promised to visit her during recesses, if he was allowed.

  She glanced at Humphry, seated next to her at the defense table, but the man stared straight ahead, not meeting her eyes. She looked next to her right, where the prosecutor sat. Lieutenant Lonsdale appeared ready to proceed, shoulders squared and tablet in hand. Behind him Hermione’s officers sat in the first row of the gallery, Captain Neals closest to her. None of them spared her a single glance.

  She clenched her fists on the table in front of her and bowed her head. They’d not even maintained her rank as midshipman, instead accepting Neals’ insistence that he had ordered her disrated.

  And not even rated Able, but only Ordinary, as though I had no skills at all. I’m surprised he didn’t insist on Landsman.

  It surprised her that she could be stung by such a thing when she was about to be tried for offenses, the least of which could result in a death sentence. But she was proud of what she’d done, what she’d learned of the ships in such a short time. To have it all ignored and mean nothing was somehow worse than the charges themselves.

  “Thank you,” Captain Crandall, the Court’s head, said. “Read the charges, if you please.”

  “The accused shall rise!”

  Alexis stood and stared levelly at the bulkhead behind the three captains.

  “Alexis Arleen Carew, charged in violation of the Articles of War, the specification as follows:

  “Article the Third, if any officer, spacer, soldier, or other person of the fleet, shall give, hold, or entertain intelligence to or with any enemy or rebel, without leave from the Queen's Majesty, or the Lord High Admiral, or the commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral, commander in chief, or his commanding officer, every such person so offending, and being thereof convicted by the sentence of a court martial, shall be punished with death!

  “Article the Eig
hteenth, if any person in or belonging to the fleet shall make or endeavor to make any mutinous assembly upon any pretense whatsoever, every person offending herein, and being convicted thereof by the sentence of the court martial, shall suffer death: and if any person in or belonging to the fleet shall utter any words of sedition or mutiny, he shall suffer death, or such other punishment as a court martial shall deem him to deserve: and if any officer, spacer, or soldier on or belonging to the fleet, shall behave himself with contempt to his superior officer, being in the execution of his office, he shall be punished according to the nature of his offense by the judgment of a court martial!

  “Article the Nineteenth, if any person in the fleet shall conceal any traitorous or mutinous practice or design, being convicted thereof by the sentence of a court martial, he shall suffer death, or any other punishment as a court martial shall think fit; and if any person, in or belonging to the fleet, shall conceal any traitorous or mutinous words spoken by any, to the prejudice of Her Majesty or government, or any words, practice, or design, tending to the hindrance of the service, and shall not forthwith reveal the same to the commanding officer, or being present at any mutiny or sedition, shall not use his utmost endeavors to suppress the same, he shall be punished as a court martial shall think he deserves!

  “Article the Twenty-first, If any officer, spacer, soldier or other person in the fleet, shall strike any of his superior officers, or draw, or offer to draw, or lift up any weapon against him, being in the execution of his office, on any pretense whatsoever, every such person being convicted of any such offense, by the sentence of a court martial, shall suffer death; and if any officer, spacer, soldier or other person in the fleet, shall presume to quarrel with any of his superior officers, being in the execution of his office, or shall disobey any lawful command of any of his superior officers; every such person being convicted of any such offense, by the sentence of a court martial, shall suffer death, or such other punishment, as shall, according to the nature and degree of his offense, be inflicted upon him by the sentence of a court martial!

  “Alexis Arleen Carew, you are so charged! Be seated and the prosecution shall present evidence!”

  Alexis sat as Lonsdale rose at the other table. They can only hang me once, I suppose.

  “The prosecution now calls to the stand Captain Tylere Neals,” Lonsdale said. He waited while Neals made his way to the chair set aside for witnesses and swore to tell the truth. “Captain Neals, would you be so kind as to relate to the Court the events leading up to the mutiny on H.M.S. Hermione? Strictly as they pertain to the accused, if you please.”

  “Of course,” Neals said. He settled himself comfortably in the witness chair and nodded to the three captains who sat as judges.

  “Easy, Carew,” Lieutenant Humphry whispered to her. He nodded to her hands, which were clenched and white knuckled on the defense table. “Confidence and restraint will serve you best.”

  Alexis forced her hands to relax and looked straight ahead, struggling to remain impassive. There was now no man she hated nearly so much as she despised Captain Neals — and now she’d have to sit silently and listen to him spew his lies and accusations.

  Neals cleared his throat. “The crew of Hermione was always a surly, undisciplined lot, you understand. I did my best to bring them into line after taking command, but there was an undercurrent. A bad element amongst the crew … too much new blood from the gaols and assizes at the start of the war, I think. My officers and I were making some progress.” He nodded toward Hermione’s surviving lieutenant and midshipmen who were seated in the gallery. “Kept the men busy and out of mischief. But when Carew came aboard, I noticed a decided change.”

  “And what change was that, captain?”

  “Well, it’s never a good idea to put a woman aboard a warship in the first place, is it? Takes the men’s minds off their work. And Carew, well, she seemed unnaturally close to the men from the start. Especially those in her division.”

  “Captain, are you suggesting—”

  “I have no proof of anything, of course. If I had, I would’ve put her off the ship at once.” He straightened. “But in retrospect, there were signs. She always was touching them, you see. A hand on their arm or a pat on the back. Encouraging those thoughts, I think. And she went quite easy on them — rarely enforced discipline or drove the men to excel. Quite lax. Garnering their favor, if you see it.”

  “And the mutiny, captain?”

  “Yes, of course. The day before, you see, we’d had two men overboard and lost. Men of Carew’s division, I point out. They were lax with their lines coming down the mast — likely due to Carew’s allowing such dangerous behavior — and by the time it was reported to the quarterdeck they were so far behind that it was pointless to try and recover them. Again, I fault Carew for the delay as well. She slipped onto the quarterdeck and stood there with her mouth gaping like some fresh-caught fish before she reported the men had gone over.”

  Neals poured himself a glass of water from a pitcher nearby and took a long drink.

  “Well, the men were understandably distraught — all of them, but especially those of her division — but Carew didn’t take them in hand. She let them fester and fret about it until they spoke out in such a way that I simply couldn’t ignore. Crowded almost onto the quarterdeck itself and were close to mutiny right then and there, in my opinion. Since Carew was clearly incapable of controlling her men, I took a direct hand and settled things down. Had to flog the worst offenders — no choice — but the rest settled down right enough.

  “The next day I did what I should have done earlier, I admit. I took a direct hand in that division, as Carew simply wasn’t up to it. Worked them hard and gave them no chance to dwell on things. There was a great deal of improvement, I might add. Cut a full three minutes from their time to step the mainmast and rig all plain sail just in that one day’s work. Shows how lax Carew was with them, that they’d been lazing about all that time under her.

  “Well, even with the improvement, they were still a lax lot and I found some minor issue — an unfastened gasket — in my inspection of their work. Asked Carew for the man’s name so that I could give him a talking to — set his mind right about his work, you understand — and Carew … well, she outright refused to give me the name. Defied my order in front of the entire crew.”

  Neals looked down at the floor for a moment and then at the judges. “Gentlemen, I wish that I could communicate to you the depths of my disappointment in myself. I’m sure you agree that it is a captain’s responsibility to mold and teach his young officers. My own captains, when I was a midshipman, were instrumental in forging my ability to command and my career itself. Vice-Admiral Beesley, for instance, and Admirals Waithe and Hearst. Even old Lord Daigrepont, though he left the service to join the House of Lords before rising to flag rank himself. Good men all, and instrumental, critical I tell you, in making me the man I am today. I remember serving with them all fondly and am grateful to call them friends to this day.” He sighed. “I had hoped, gentleman, to do justice to the good they did me by doing the same for my young officers.

  “But with Carew … I failed. And for her to disobey, to refuse a direct order … gentlemen, such a thing cannot be let stand. It cannot be tolerated or all discipline will break down. I had no choice. And so, with great regret, I ordered her disrated. I should have dismissed her from the service entirely,” he continued quickly, “but think of my position. We were on patrol, with limited provisions. Should I have kept her aboard and set men to guard her? No, I thought, perhaps, that some little time before the mast might make an improvement in her. And, if it did not, better to have her working and contributing to the ship, than taking up time and resources during a war.”

  He turned his gaze on Alexis and her hands clenched again. She met his eyes and it was all she could do not to speak out or, worse, rush forward and strike him for the lying bastard he was.

  “Still she defied me, gentlemen,” Neals
continued. “I felt I had no choice, you understand. It was a difficult decision, but I ordered her flogged.”

  “Order!” one of the captains called as the watching crowd became louder.

  “As I would have any man amongst the crew who so defied a direct order!” Neals raised his voice to be heard. “Yes, gentlemen,” he continued when order had been restored. He met the eyes of the judges and then looked out in the crowded courtroom gallery. “Yes, I can well understand your shock. I would be shocked too, if I had not directly experienced the arrogance and defiance of that girl. Had I but known what Carew’s next actions would be, I can assure you I would have ordered far more than a mere flogging!”

  “And what actions were those, captain?” Lieutenant Lonsdale asked.

  “Carew, in conjunction with the men of her division, conspired to incite the crew to mutiny that very night!” Neals paused and took a long drink. “Your pardon for my outburst, gentlemen, the events of that night are quite distressing still.”

  “I understand, Captain Neals,” Lonsdale said. “Do you require a brief recess, perhaps?”

  Neals drew a deep breath. “No. No, ‘twere best done quickly, yes?” He smiled at the judges. “That evening I had dinner with my senior officers and retired early. It was late, perhaps six or seven bells of the Middle Watch, when I was awakened by a gunshot. I rose and went to my arms cupboard, but it was too late. Some eight or a dozen men overpowered the marine sentry and stormed into my cabin.” He took another drink. “They roughly bound me and dragged me out onto the mess deck, where I found several of my officers in similar condition.

  “The crew was quite excited and loud, but then … then she—” He pointed steadily at Alexis. “—came up the companionway and they quieted. In an instant two hundred and more men went silent. It was uncanny, the power she had over them somehow, and I cannot understand how I did not see her machinations before this. She came up to us … they had us kneeling, you must understand, like supplicants … and then she began talking to the crew about whether they would kill us all!”