Final Voyage of the Remora

by Richard S. Tuttle

  "You know that I have dedicated my life to freeing the children of the Dielderal," replied Morro, "but I feel confident that I can sway you to my cause with logic. If my logic is not sound, I will continue to develop my plan, but I will follow your every order faithfully."

  "Are you sure?" asked Kalina. "Such a lifelong desire can often be hard to push away."

  "I am sure," nodded Morro. "I have often thought with pride about what the Dielderal people should be like and how they should act. What I have found in you Knights of Alcea is the very model of perfection that I dreamed of for my own people. I want to be part of you and learn whatever you can teach me. Perhaps one day I can carry that knowledge back to my own people and in turn teach them."

  * * *

  Seven men gathered in the cave high up in the peaks of the Barrier. They huddled around a small fire discussing the information that Bitsy had delivered a short while ago.

  "I can't begin to imagine how we could destroy a hundred ships," stated Clint McFarren.

  "Especially in enemy controlled waters," agreed Prince Rigal.

  "Fire is the only way," declared Max Caber. "The problem with that is that once you start torching the ships, the other ships will not sit idle and wait for you to progress through their ranks. They will hoist anchors and sail away from the inferno."

  "If the enemy doesn't just turn around and attack those of us setting the fires," interjected Karl Gree. "I don't think that sinking the ships can be done."

  "Unless…" mused Shawn Cowen.

  "Unless what?" asked Clint.

  "What if the ships were coated with something extremely flammable?" offered Shawn.

  "Like fire glue?" asked Lyron.

  "We don't have enough of that for a hundred ships," Max shook his head.

  "Not fire glue," corrected Shawn as he reached into his pack and pulled out a thin stalk of plant material. "When we were near Atule's Maze, I saw flamorweed growing there. Watch this."

  The Ranger took his knife and cut a small slit in the stalk. A drop of resin bubbled from within the slit, and Shawn took a small stick and caught the drop on it. He stretched his arm towards the fire, and the stick burst into flames. The fire burned with an intense heat, and Shawn was forced to toss the stick into the campfire.

  "Flamorweed will coat wood with a thin film, and it is light enough to float on water," explained Shawn. "If we could somehow coat the ships with the resin and then flood the water of the anchorage with what is left, the ships will go up in a blazing inferno. None of them will have a chance to weigh anchor and move."

  "That would require a tremendous amount of resin," frowned Karl. "Assuming we could get such a large quantity, how would we get it to the Federation ships?"

  "Captain Gomery did say that he would be able to make the Remora fit to sail once again," posed Clint. "We could deliver the resin by ship."

  "Into the Sea of Tears?" balked Gerant. "You must be crazy. We would be caught for sure."

  "I think that Gerant is correct," chuckled Max. "We are crazy, but my reasoning is not the same as his. In order to coat all of the ships and flood the anchorage, the Remora itself would inevitably become coated. Once we ignited the firestorm, our vessel for the trip home would burn along with the rest. It would be a suicide mission."

  While the others mulled over Max's words, Button swooped into the cave and landed on Karl's shoulder.

  "If you are looking for Bitsy," Karl said in welcome, "she left an hour ago. She is on her way to the Remora."

  "I will be following her there," replied the little woman, "but I bring fresh news from Garth."

  Everyone looked at the fairy expectantly. They noticed that Button was not her usual jovial self, and they braced themselves for bad news.

  "Garth has determined that the condition of the Remora makes a return to Alcea impossible," the fairy stated. "He has sent me to inform each of you that you will be allowed to leave the service of the Bringer and assimilate into Zaran society if that is your desire."

  "And if we do not wish to assimilate?" asked Prince Rigal. "What then?"

  "It is Garth's intention to inflict as much damage on the enemy as is possible," replied Button. "You do not need to answer at this moment. I will be flying on to the Remora with the same message. When each of the men there has decided what he wishes to do, I will return here for your answers."

  Karl nodded in understanding, and Button wordlessly leaped off his shoulder and flew out of the cave.

  "I had many expectations when signing up for this mission," Karl said sadly. "Even death was a strong possibility, but failure was one thing I never considered."

  "Inflicting damage on your enemy is never a failure," declared Prince Rigal. "We were sent to Zara to give our friends and families a better chance to survive in the coming war. While we might have thought in the beginning that the better chance rested in greater knowledge of our enemies, perhaps it truly lies in crippling the enemy before they attack."

  "Or even in delaying the advent of the attack," nodded Max Caber. "I just said that the plan to torch the enemy's fleet would leave us without a ship to return home. Well, it now appears that we will not be making that journey after all. Such news removes my objection to the plan that we were discussing."

  "You mean that you are willing to commit suicide by burning the enemy fleet?" frowned Gerant.

  "I do not think Max is talking about suicide," replied Clint. "While the odds of dying may be great in such an attack, there will still be a desire to save ourselves. What I think Max is saying, and I agree with him, is that we need to take the enemy's fleet away from them, regardless of the cost to ourselves."

  "I concur," nodded Shawn. "And I do not look at it as a suicide mission. In fact, we can create even greater havoc if we can design the attack in such a way as to survive it."

  "Count me in," Karl Gree said. "I will not admit failure as long as I breathe."

  "I will die as a warrior, not as a dog," declared Prince Rigal. "As long as Garth needs me, I will stand and fight by his side, and when he is done with me, I will stand and fight with my Dielderal brothers."

  "My words will never be as eloquent as Prince Rigal's," stated Lyron, "but my sentiments the same. Count me in."

  "And me," Gerant added with a shaking of his head. "At times I think all of you are crazy, but I would rather die by your sides knowing that I have stood with the best."

  "So," Karl asked, "how do we start this plan? It seems to me that we will need concurrence from Captain Gomery and Garth."

  "We will also need hundreds of barrels," stated Shawn, "and a way to get them to the Remora."

  "Not to mention a way into Atule's Maze to collect the flamorweed," Clint pointed out. "It will not help if we all die to the Rhodans before we get the resin we need."

  "First things first," Clint said as he woke Runt. "We need to make Garth aware not only of our plan, but of our needs. He may have some valuable input. I will send Runt to Garth, but we also need a fairy to talk to Captain Gomery."

  "Peanut will go to the Remora," volunteered Karl as he stirred his fairy to life.

  * * *

  The eagle circled high in the sky over the ocean. Off in the distance, the land rose out of the blue sea with the cliffs surrounding the Needle towering over the rest. Far below the eagle, six Zaran warships patrolled the width of a deepwater channel that ran through a more shallow section of the sea. The eagle looked north and south for another channel through the extensive ridge of reefs, but it could not locate one. With that information stored away, the eagle turned westward and soared towards the land. Maintaining a course parallel to the Needle, the eagle flew over Suicide Point and gazed down upon the massive fleet of Zaran troop transport ships.

  Most of the empty ships were rafted together in small groups, as if they had been sitting at anchorage without crews for a very long time. Others, presumably more recently arrived, sat alone, creating a circle around the older core of ships. The eagle's keen eyes lingered on
the decks of the ships, gauging the number of men assigned to maintain the anchorages. Satisfied that it had memorized the most important details, the eagle banked to the right and sailed towards the sharp, steaming peaks of the Pyres.

  Sulfurous steam rose from the three volcanoes, and the eagle maneuvered between two of the peaks and descended towards the fast approaching sands of the desert. As the volcanoes passed behind it, the eagle banked to the left and descended even further. Little twirling dust storms ripped across the vastness of the Sands of Eternity, but the eagle easily avoided them. Without a soul in sight, the eagle dropped into a trough between two dunes and landed softly on the desert floor. In a blurring of reality similar to the mirages often seen in the desert, the form of the eagle faded and a young, beautiful woman took its place. Kalina tossed her long hair over her shoulder and entered the hole that was the entrance to the lost city of Aranak. When she entered Morro's room, she found the others waiting for her.

  "What did you find?" asked Garth.

  "There are indeed six warships patrolling far off the coast of Zara," confirmed Kalina. "I could not see any way around them. There is a barely submerged reef running north and south for hundreds of leagues, and they command the only cut through it."

  "So the bulletin was correct," Morro stated. "I am glad that you verified it before taking your chances on running the blockade."

  "The anchored fleet is huge," Kalina continued. "Many of the ships are rafted together, as there are not enough crew aboard to tend to all of them. Only the more recent arrivals appeared to be fully crewed, but I suspect they too will raft as their numbers grow."

  "We have heard from the other members," Garth said. "To a man, they have decided to stay with us and fight. Shawn has a plan for incinerating the fleet, but it is risky and dangerous. It also has numerous logistical problems."

  "What are the problems?" asked Kalina.

  "Shawn wants to harvest flamorweed from Atule's Maze," answered Garth. "The resin from it will enable the total destruction of the fleet before it can disband, but it will require a great number of barrels of the resin."

  "And they will need a way to get the resin aboard the Remora," added Tedi.

  "Then there is the problem of getting the Remora through the Needle and to the fleet unseen," Garth continued. "All in all, it is a fairly weak plan, but it is still the best we have come up with. Maybe after having actually seen the fleet, you might have the seeds of a better plan?"

  Kalina sat on the bed and grabbed a ration from the bookshelf. Before Morro realized what she was doing, Kalina bit into the dried meat.

  "Those are old rations," Morro warned the mage.

  "I could use some water to go with them," requested Kalina.

  Morro hurriedly handed Kalina a cup of water, and she drank it eagerly.

  "I meant really old," Morro said softly. "I found them downstairs. I was meaning to try them out to see if they were still good."

  "A little dry," shrugged Kalina, "but they are still edible."

  "I still don't see how the Remora can ever get through the Needle," commented Natia as everyone stared at Kalina to see if she would be ill.

  "How many barrels of flamorweed does Shawn think he will need?" asked Kalina.

  "Over a hundred," answered Garth. "That is another part of the logistics problem. There is no place near them where they can buy barrels."

  "They will have to improvise," replied Kalina. "The barrels need not be well crafted. They merely have to hold the liquid without leaking."

  "So you think the plan is doable?" asked Garth.

  "I do," nodded Kalina. "I agree that there are some serious problems with it, but I think we can overcome those problems. After seeing the fleet, I want the crew of the Remora to stock up on coconuts."

  "Coconuts?" echoed Tedi. "As a food source?"

  "No," answered Kalina, "although they are welcome to consume the innards. Coconuts would make excellent vessels for our little friends to deliver the liquids onto the decks of the ships."

  "I will send the message immediately," grinned Garth. "That is an excellent suggestion."

  Morro listened to the conversation in confusion. The reference to little friends was undecipherable to him, but Garth's statement that he would deliver the order to the crew of the Remora made him even more curious. He wondered how the Knights of Alcea were communicating with one another.

  "How do you talk to the others in your group?" asked Morro. "While I have long suspected that they are far away, the mention of Atule's Maze puts them hundreds of leagues away. How can you possibly get messages to them so quickly?"

  Garth glanced at Morro as if measuring him, but he soon split his lips in a wide grin. He stuck his finger in his breast pocket and stirred Bitsy to life. The little woman immediately jumped out of the pocket and vaulted onto Garth's shoulder.

  "What shall I do for you today?" chirped the fairy.

  Morro's eyes grew unbelievably wide as he stared at the little woman. Garth smiled and introduced the fairy.

  "This is Bitsy," he said. "She has accompanied us from Alcea. She and her kind are followers of the Bringer, who we know as King Arik of Alcea. She and her compatriots are valued members of our group."

  "You must be Morro, the elven thief," Bitsy curtsied. "I have seen you before."

  Morro stood in awe, staring at the little woman. Not knowing what to do, he found himself bowing slightly, and a big grin spread over Bitsy's face.

  Chapter 40

  Shields Down

  The Knights of Alcea and Morro continued to work on the plans for the attack on the Zaran fleet. Fairies shuttled back and forth between the group and the Rangers and the ship. The problems with logistics continued to grow, and the mood began to turn pessimistic.

  "What if the Remora sinks before it ever reaches the Needle?" asked Natia. "All of our people will be onboard. We will have sacrificed them and gained nothing."

  "Especially if they sink off Shark's Point," agreed Morro. "The Zarans have cultivated a taste for people in the sharks. I don't think anyone would make it to shore."

  "Can we attack the ships from this end?" asked Garth. "They must be fairly close to shore."

  "They are fairly close to shore," answered Kalina, "but I suspect that is where they would expect an attack to come from. Besides, how would we ever get all the barrels of flamorweed up here? No," she shook her head adamantly, "the attack must be seaborne, and the Remora is the only vessel we have capable of accomplishing the task. Let's continue to work out the problems."

  "Where do you want to start?" asked Tedi. "There are so many flaws with the plan."

  "Getting the flamorweed sounds like the place to start," suggested Natia. "Our men will need to enter Atule's Maze to get it. Even Haditha advised against entering the jungle. Without the resin, we have no plan."

  Everyone looked dejected except Kalina. Something that Natia had said struck a chord in her mind, and she had promptly tuned out the talking in the room. Tedi was suggesting a series of small raids coordinated to keep the Rhodans off balance when Kalina's face broke into a smile.

  "I think I know how to ease some of the problems," she announced, "but I will need to leave here immediately. What the rest of you have to concentrate on is rescuing our people from the Sea of Tears when the attack is over. Such an attack will bring an immediate response from the Federation. There will be little time to accomplish the rescue and no room for error."

  "We can guide your people through the desert to Aranak," suggested Morro. "We could all hide in here for weeks if we had to. I also know of a cave near the base of the westernmost of the Pyres. That will be a good place for the initial staging. From there we will have to travel over the open desert to avoid the Federation patrols."

  "That is quite a distance from here," Garth declared. "A score of people would stand out even in the desert."

  "Not necessarily," replied Morro. "We have quite a bit of time before the attack so I think we can prepare for the resc
ue adequately. I think we can map a path that will keep us out of sight of the Federation, and we can preposition water and supplies in the meantime. If we travel only at night, the journey to here will take seven to ten days."

  "That might work," nodded Natia, "providing there are places to hide in the daytime."

  "We will make places to hide," grinned Morro. "There are hundreds of crates downstairs. We can hollow out places in the dunes and use the boards of the crates to create rooftops over the hollows."

  "And cover the crate planks with sand," Tedi nodded in appreciation. "The way the sand blows around, no one will be able to find the hide holes except us."

  "I like it," Garth said. "Once we create the hiding spots, we can put food and water into them so that the men can replenish their energy."

  "And we can use the horses to move some of the men to Aranak more quickly," declared Morro. "That way the group hiding in the desert will dwindle with each passing day. How many men will we be rescuing?"

  "Fifteen," answered Garth. "Plus Kalina if her plans call for being on the ship," he added as an afterthought.

  "I won't be coming back with the men," answered Kalina. "I will make my own way back to Aranak. That will also allow you to use my horse to help transport the men and supplies."

  Morro arched an eyebrow at the woman, but Kalina paid no attention to his questioning look.

  "I think it is time to learn what you are going to be doing," Garth said to Kalina. "While you may think you have all the solutions, I want to hear about them before you leave."

  "I do not have all the answers just yet," Kalina responded, "but I think I know how to get them. Natia's mention of Haditha gave me a few ideas. Let me explain."

  * * *

  Deep in the Endless Swamp, Kalina sat at the table of the water witch. Haditha was pacing back and forth anxiously.

  "I thought you would be eager to strike a blow to the Federation?" asked Kalina.

  "I would love to," Haditha responded, "but I told you that I never leave the swamp. It is my self-imposed prison."