Clockwork Secrets

by Dru Pagliassotti

  “Liliana and Jin had questions.” She smiled at him. “Amcathra’s going to take them on a tour of the ship this evening.”

  “He didn’t say it was going to be a tour,” Liliana protested. “Besides, Sergeant Lucanus has told us so much now….”

  “Janos is giving a tour? You must have twisted his arm.”

  Taya nodded to the Cabisi. “Jinian did, diplomatically speaking.”

  “I am very interested in the ship,” Jinian agreed, “but perhaps Liliana prefers to tour it alone with the captain tonight.”

  “What? No! Wait!” Liliana looked panicked. “I can’t talk to him alone!”

  “A private tour is much more intimate…”

  “No— Jin!”

  “Very well. I will be a chaperone.” Jinian’s eyes danced at Liliana’s blush. Cristof fixed his skeptical gaze on Taya.

  “What is all of this about?”

  “Captain Amcathra needs to learn how to socialize with women.”

  “While he’s commanding a ship?”

  “He’ll be off-duty tonight. And he needs the practice. You know, the only time he ever accepted a social invitation from us was for our wedding, and I don’t think he stayed at the reception longer than ten minutes.”

  Cristof turned to the other two women. “Don’t expect much. Janos has a very functional approach to life, and he doesn’t consider most conversational topics or leisure activities to be functional. I’m afraid you won’t find him very entertaining.”

  “I’ve heard him make jokes,” Taya objected.

  “Very rarely,” Cristof retorted. Taya laughed and his smile crooked up as he realized what he’d said. “And I don’t think he’ll ever work his way up to ‘rarely.’”

  “There are other ways of getting a soldier’s attention,” Jinian remarked.

  Cristof pushed up his glasses and cast a meaningful glance toward Liliana. “Age-appropriate ways?”

  “My thoughts involve combat training, but I am suddenly dying to hear your thoughts on the best way to draw the captain’s attention.” Jinian gave the exalted a devilish grin. “Please share them with us.”

  “Combat training sounds perfectly appropriate to me,” Cristof said hastily.

  “Tomorrow night I teach you how to fight,” Jinian said to the principessa. “It is useful to know, and soldiers cannot resist watching somebody else train.”

  The girl shook her head. “I couldn’t.”

  “It’s not a bad idea,” Taya encouraged her. “I was taught some basic self-defense when I started working as a courier, but I could use a refresher course. Why don’t we learn together?”

  “But I wouldn’t be … it’s not … it’s not dignified!”

  Which means she doesn’t want Amcathra to see her sweating, Taya thought with a sigh.

  “There’s nothing dignified about being a victim, either.” She changed tack. “Your sister knows how to fight, doesn’t she? She’ll need you to fight by her side if you two are going to defend the Agosti Family from the rebels. You don’t expect your little brother to fight for you, do you?”

  Liliana swallowed. Taya held her gaze until the girl gave a tiny shake of her head.

  “Good. Then we’ll train together.”

  Jinian grinned and turned to Cristof. “You are welcome to join us, Ambassador.”

  “Me? I thought this was a girls-only conspiracy.”

  “There is no conspiracy. I wish to help Liliana win her vendetta. If the captain becomes involved in her training as well, that does not make the training any less important. What are your combat talents?”

  “Cris is good with his fists and a pistol,” Taya volunteered.

  “Excellent! I have little experience with firearms,” Jinian said. “Will you teach me how to shoot better?”

  “I’ll consult Janos about it,” Cristof said, sighing.

  * * *

  Later that evening, Cristof looked up from the notes he’d spread across a table in the mess hall as Taya slid into a chair across from him.

  “You’re not going on the tour?”

  “I’ll let the captain handle those two on his own.”

  “Liliana is too young for him, you know.”

  “I know. Don’t worry— she’s just feeling a little hero-worship because he threw a punch for her in that marketplace brawl.”

  “And Jinian….”

  “She says he’s not her type.”

  “I see.” He looked at her over the tops of his glasses. “I haven’t forgotten that you intend to set him up.”

  “I keep trying, but he keeps resisting,” she said, making a face. “So far all I know for sure is that he pays attention to women’s necklines and hem lengths. I suppose that means he prefers women. Or at least he likes their dresses.”

  “Janos isn’t interested in men. I worked with him for years, and he never once made a pass at me.”

  “As if that means anything!” Taya kicked him under the table. “You were an ill-tempered old crow back then.”

  Cristof raised his eyebrows. “Does that mean I’m not any more?”

  “You’ve gotten better, but now you’re taken, and I’m sure he wouldn’t poach.” Taya blew her husband a kiss, then rested her elbows on the table. “So, what are you going to tell the Council?”

  “That we’re lucky the Cabisi islands have such limited natural resources. If they ever forsake artisanry for mass production, we’ll be in trouble.” He straightened his notes. “I’m going to suggest we set up an intellectual exchange program like the one with Mareaux. Our manufacturers have grown set in their ways, while Cabiel’s engineers are fresh and creative— it comes from having to do more with less, I expect. An exchange might breathe some new life into our old industries.”

  “If Cabiel’s serpentfire cannon doesn’t destroy us all, first.”

  “I’m sure it won’t come to that.” Cristof looked at her and his expression softened. “Come on, love, don’t start brooding about it and upsetting yourself. There’s nothing we can do until we’re back on the continent.”

  “I’m not very good at being patient.”

  “You need a distraction. Jinian’s lessons will be good for you.”

  “They don’t start until tomorrow.”

  “You could catch up with Janos’s tour.”

  “No, thank you.”

  He cleared his throat.

  “We could always go back to our cabin.”

  “Wh— oh.” Taya felt a ridiculous smile creep over her face. “In those little bunks?”

  “It’ll be more distracting that way.”

  “Not too distracting, I hope.” She pushed her chair back and stood. “Let’s find out.”

  Her husband swept his papers into a messy pile and bundled them under one arm, returning her grin.

  * * *

  The next evening, Jinian took Taya and Liliana to the ship’s stern and showed them how to defend themselves against knife attacks.

  “Last time I was in a knife fight, I was wearing my flight suit,” Taya muttered as the short piece of wood Liliana was wielding slashed across her stomach. “And my armature.”

  “Wear them during training, if they are what you usually wear in Ondinium,” Jinian advised, watching Taya counter. Taya’s shard of wood grazed Liliana’s corset as the girl twisted away and struck her wrist. The principessa had refused to put on a practical lictor’s uniform, although she’d loosened her laces and hiked her skirts to mid-calf.

  “Not fair,” Taya complained. “Your corset’s like armor.”

  “That’s why Family women wear them.” Liliana lunged and Taya jumped back, forgetting to redirect the girl’s knife arm in her panicked retreat. The “knife” stabbed her in the side.

  “Hey!”

  “Very good,” Jinian said. Liliana
blushed and allowed herself a small smile.

  Their slashes and stabs quickly drew the attention of the off-duty crew members, just as Jinian had predicted. The lictors gathered around to watch, offering advice and approbation. Jinian asked them what kind of training they’d received and learned that the crew had been trained primarily in hand-to-hand combat, pistol, rifle, and cannon.

  “No swords or sabres?” Liliana asked, surprised. “What do you use when you duel?”

  “Dueling’s illegal in Ondinium,” Taya said. “And only lictors and a few citizens with special licenses can carry firearms or a blade longer than a utility knife.”

  “Your citizens settle all of their personal disputes in the courts?” Jinian asked. “That seems very time-consuming.”

  “And what do you do about honor and romance?” Liliana added. “Laws don’t cover everything!”

  “It’s not that we never get into fights,” the ship’s temporary navigator, Lucanus, explained. “But fights aren’t duels, and they aren’t usually fatal. Ondinium takes murder very seriously.”

  “You get more armed combat out in the countryside,” Mister Pitio mused. “A lot of hunters and camp guards carry rifles….”

  “And of course we’re allowed to kill in war,” Cadet Fidenus chimed in. The rest of the lictors fell silent and Liliana dropped her eyes. The eighteen-year-old cadet blushed. “I mean—”

  “War is a matter for soldiers,” Jinian said lightly. “I wish to teach my pretty friends here how to fight off men with evil intentions. What do you lictors advise icarii and princesses to do when somebody points a knife at them?”

  “Scream.”

  “Run away.”

  “The princess could carry a gun and shoot the bastard.”

  Jinian eventually persuaded the lictors to offer more pragmatic, hand-to-hand solutions and asked them to demonstrate. Soon Taya and Liliana were only one pair in a much larger group as the lictors practiced different ways to avoid, deflect, and control an enemy’s knife. Although Taya and Liliana remained paired most of the time, Jinian periodically asked some of the younger, more handsome male lictors to partner with Liliana for a few rounds, “so she can practice against a bigger opponent.” The new partners were, to a man, overly cautious about attacking the pretty principessa, who crowed with delight every time she avoided their blades. Young Cadet Fidenus seemed to be a particularly inept knife-fighter, perhaps to make amends for his earlier undiplomatic observation.

  By the time the sun set, everyone was tired and in good spirits. Taya raked back her hair and saw Cristof and Amcathra standing side-by-side, watching. Jinian spotted them at the same time.

  “Will you join us tomorrow, Ambassador?” she asked.

  “Thanks, but I prefer to shoot my enemies.”

  “Your wife says you practice fisticuffs.”

  “Only in a pinch— and Janos taught me most of what I know.”

  “Moreover, the exalted has not kept in practice,” Amcathra observed.

  “Then you must refresh your skills, Ambassador. If Captain Amcathra is your usual instructor, then he must be your sparring partner tomorrow, as well.”

  “Oh, no.” Cristof raised a hand to ward her off, but Amcathra considered the invitation.

  “Perhaps more training would be prudent,” he said at last. “If the weather holds, we will have a considerable amount of free time before we reach Mareaux, and I purchased a surplus of powder and shot in Os Cansai. Arms and combat drills would be a productive use of the crew’s free time.”

  “Do I get any say in this?” Cristof grumped.

  “As you are not one of my crew members, Exalted, you are of course free to squander your time on less useful pursuits.”

  The exalted scowled.

  “My time on board has been very well-spent so far.”

  “Of course. I would not wish you to embarrass yourself by demonstrating inferior combat skills before your wife and the crew.”

  Cristof shoved his wire-rimmed glasses higher on the bridge of his nose.

  “Are you really lowering yourself to baiting me?”

  “Such transparent tactics would never work on the divinely blessed product of a thousand fortuitous rebirths.”

  “Besides, even if I lose to you at fisticuffs, I’m better with a needler.”

  “We shall see.”

  “I look forward to witnessing Ondinium’s legendary military prowess,” Jinian said, grinning at Taya.

  The Firebrands spent the rest of the journey practicing gunnery drills under Captain Amcathra’s critical eye, while Jinian offered more relaxed and good-natured hand-to-hand training to anyone who was interested. Every sunset the lictors took scandalized pleasure in watching their captain spar the exalted, although they seemed torn between cheering for their castemate or their social superior. Taya was pleased to see that Cristof held his own, at least in the short term.

  “You strike fast and have a longer reach, but a man as big and solid as the captain needs only to defend himself while you tire yourself out,” Jinian advised the sweating exalted during a momentary break. “You must take a bigger man out of the fight quickly. Aim for his eyes, throat, solar plexus, groin, and knees. High and low, high and low.”

  Amcathra nodded with approval and lifted his fists as Cristof gave a weary sigh. In the end, the exalted always lost, but he shook the captain’s hand with good humor.

  Later, Captain Amcathra gave Jinian and Professor Dautry permission to learn how to load and fire a rifle and needler. Cristof drilled the two women until they were able to maintain a respectable speed of loading, firing, and reloading.

  “Not bad,” Cristof said, examining the targets. “Professor, with a little more practice, I think you could be better than Janos.”

  Dautry looked embarrassed, tucking her hair back into its bun. “I used to hunt with my family….”

  “I need a secondary helm more than another gunner,” Amcathra said, “but it is useful to know that I can call on you to take over a weapon if necessary.”

  Dautry stiffened. “I’m a scholar, not a soldier, Captain. Participating in your duel was quite enough excitement for me.”

  Amcathra met and held her gaze.

  “You agreed to join the Firebrand’s crew.”

  The professor hesitated, glancing at the lictors working and sparring around her.

  “I did,” she said, “although I should point out that right now I’m serving without rank or compensation, Captain.”

  “Are you training a replacement on secondary helm?”

  “Yes. Your lictor Bright shows promise.”

  “Have him in place by next week and resume your old duties.”

  “As a navigator?” Dautry couldn’t quite hide the disappointment in her voice. “Under my old contract?”

  Amcathra’s eyes narrowed.

  “I have no intention of allowing you to renege on our agreement, Dautry. I will formalize and backdate your position as a warrant officer in the ship’s log as soon as I return to my cabin this evening. You will find that a ship’s navigator is more highly compensated than its secondary helm.”

  Taya grinned at the professor’s startled expression.

  “That sounds reasonable,” Cristof agreed. “The Council will hate it, but you’re right, Professor— it’s only fair that we pay you for your service, especially in combat.”

  “Oh.” Dautry blinked, then allowed herself a small half-smile. “A warrant officer on the Firebrand. Thank you, Captain. That will do nicely.”

  “However, in exchange I will expect you to serve in whatever capacity may become necessary,” Amcathra warned. “Including gunnery, if we find ourselves short-handed.”

  “Of course.” The professor gave her target a critical look. “Then if you don’t mind, I’ll continue to practice.”

  * * *
>
  The lookout sighted Mareaux’s coast on a gray, drizzly afternoon about halfway through their tenth day out. Two hours later, the Firebrand was close enough to shore for its crew to see an Alzanan dirigible rising from the harbor and flying out to meet them.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Is it the Indomitable?” Taya ran to Lieutenant Imbrex, who’d pulled out a set of field glasses. The lieutenant lifted a hand and Taya fell silent, every muscle tense. Behind her, Cristof caught up and laid a hand on her shoulder.

  “I don’t believe so,” Imbrex said at last. “There’s no sign of any damage to the ship. The number’s difficult to make out at this angle….”

  “Ten? The Indomitable’s number was ten.”

  “No. Twelve? Thirteen? The last number isn’t a zero.”

  “Alzana has thirteen ships?”

  “More important, what’s an Alzanan ship doing in Mareaux’s harbor?” Cristof interjected.

  “Well, it’s left the harbor now,” Imbrex said absently. “That’s good— there’ll be fewer diplomatic consequences if we meet in aerus liberum.”

  Cristof frowned. “Free air?”

  “Under imperial law, the boundaries for territorial waters and territorial airspace were identical.”

  “And now?”

  “Nobody updated the law after the empire collapsed. I suppose it never seemed necessary.” Imbrex lowered her glasses. “If you will excuse me, Ambassador, I need to consult with the captain.”

  “Do you think they were waiting for us?” Taya asked her husband as the lieutenant left. The on-again, off-again drizzle started once more, raindrops pattering on the ondium-plated deck.

  “It looks like it. I’m sure the Alzanans warned their troops to be on the lookout for us.”

  Taya leaned on the rail, studying the ship. Cristof’s hand slid from her shoulder as he maintained his wary position away from the ship’s rail.

  “I wonder how the decaturs are explaining the Firebrand,” she murmured.

  “I hope it’s causing them all sorts of discomfort.”

  “They must have known that they couldn’t send it into foreign airspace without somebody seeing it.”