A Queen Among Crows: Book One of Empire's End

by M. S. Linsenmayer

  "Insurance. Good idea." Lois laughed. "This will be fun."

  Minutes waiting, a life time of tension. What if I was wrong about the Grand Duke's powers? This standoff couldn't last forever. Sooner or later Julie would run out of patience, and do something courageous and stupid, or the enemy would, and do something desperate and stupid. I was about to panic, and do something pointless and stupid- there was no way I could charge three men at that distance unarmed without a distraction- when I heard a terrible creak and the ship began to tilt beneath my feet.

  "Charge!" I screamed, took two steps, and slipped to land face first in slaughtered rat. Several rifle shots flew by over my head, then a cry of 'Feugo' from James, and the man with the transmitter also flew by over my head, with James and Lois in fast pursuit. Gravity, as they say, is a bitch.

  I staggered up as best I could, one of the enemy was already down, in several pieces, and the other was nailed to the hanger wall with Julie's thrown sword pining him in place like a bug in a scientist's collection. Julie slid down the launch way to me, one hand held out for balance. "The bombs?" she asked.

  "Jammed, I hope. We at least we are still here, and not all down there. Help me to that weird box contraption they have by the hanger please. We need to finish this."

  Julie slipped under my arm, I tried not to enjoy it too much, and leaning against the angle of the ship, we climbed to where the steel and wood machine sat. "Is this... Some sort of bomb?" Julie asked.

  "No. I have never seen one before." I tore off the wood sides, exposing the glass plumbing, full of lightly glowing green fluid flushing in and out of the metal cylinders. "But I think this is one of Dr. Miego's machines."

  "A what?" Julie looked lost.

  I waved at her to wait, then carefully unbolted the ties from the main cylinder; unscrewing the top showed an inner cavity of more tubes, green solution, wires, and nestled within, a living human brain. "This is what the British Empire does, Julie, to people like us whom they don't think are useful anymore. They cut out the parts they need, and put them in tanks. The surgeries on me were just the beginning; this is the end."

  "This is not what I meant by seeing her Naked." Julie looked sick. “My government may want this for study."

  "Pity that it was lost in the fight" I grabbed the machine under the wheels, and as hard as I could threw it over the edge and down to the waiting grave below.

  Julie did not stop me.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  The Busts of Pallas

  Interlude:

  I looked through Ilona's eyes, aware of me, she grinned and then started turning her head around, so I could see where she was. On top of a baggage rack of some kind, a small bowl of scraps at her feet, across the dark room, a mirror. Snoring in a small fold out travel bed, Anna and her mother dozed quietly. Through the window, the nighttime Russia winter woods rolled past, silver ice lit by brief flashes of moonlight glimmered almost poetically. Out the door, a single guard slumped in his chair, trying not to sleep himself.

  Ilona laughed once, lightly, then began flipping her head back and forth as fast as possible to try and make me dizzy. I pulled out before she could do so, and looked at my own world with my own eyes again.

  Kids.

  The Grand Duke Aleksandr, I was beginning to suspect, was incapable of being anything other than in a foul mood. Well, Anna was evidence that at some point her mother did make Aleksandr happy, although it was I suppose entirely possible he closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and shouted 'For Russia' the entire time. Although I might be entirely wrong about who her father is, there are at least six or seven other possible suspects - including whoever it was that helped him in our little 'encounter' after the duel, assuming it was not Anna herself and that Lois was correct in her theories.

  Which made my current position an assumption on a supposition on an assumption on a suspicion on a theory... I really should go into a more solid occupation, one based on sound reasoning and evidence. Like economics, politics, journalism, or prostitution. Well, I was young again, maybe I could get some clients with a new girl and bird act....

  "You." The Grand Duke growled " Are not even listening to me."

  "My apologies" I tried to curtsy as sincerely as possible. “I am afraid I still have not recovered from my injuries."

  "And is this the excuse you will make for disobeying my direct orders?" His eyes were full of green sparks.

  "I did save your ship." I would have liked to scoot back, but it felt like half the air navy was jammed into this room. Well, perhaps a third.

  "I am aware of that. But if you knew I was sending you the wrong way, why did you not say so to me to begin with? I am not an ogre, Madame, but when I give an order, I expect it to be obeyed on my own airship" his mustaches were beginning to smoke.

  "Because the rat was watching" I said.

  "What. Rat"

  "The one hiding in your bridge air vent. I am not sure how much it could understand or communicate, rats are not that intelligent, but I thought it wiser to not take the risk. I assumed you knew, surely one of your officers must have seen it or heard it?" I tried to sound innocent, really. I may have sounded more like psychotic.

  "I. I. I. Think I hate you." He thrust a finger at Julie. "Dame, we shall be at Tunguska in a bit over four hours. At which point she had best prove herself useful. Until then, take her to her quarters, and keep her there, even if you have to sit on her."

  "Yes, my lord" Julie put her hand on my shoulder "Time for us to go."

  "Wait." I said "four hours will be close to midnight, local time. Should we not wait for daylight to begin the search?"

  "That, Madame, is what searchlights and flares are for. Dismissed!"

  I dismissed. Stage left, head held high.

  #

  We all marched back through the maze of twisty turning passages, all alike, back down to the junior officer's territory and my waiting room. I was tired, with a twist in my back from falling and a smorgasbord of smears of the truly disgusting variety all over my new clothes. Julie was even worse, looking like Countess Bathory after a salon session. On my shoulder, poor Lois kept having to duck her head, while James and the girls hopped, skittered, and waltzed behind. Then came poor Popov, whom was probably not my best friend right now, as he kept muttering 'career' and 'promotion'. Behind him marched two air marines... Well Popov learned from his mistakes, at least.

  Julie marched straight down the hall, but stopped at the door before ours, and rapped on it loudly with the hilt of her sword. I glanced a question at her, she smiled, and said "you were warned."

  "Was I?" I said as the door opened, a young officer looked out with anger, saw who it was, and turned pale as a sheet.

  "Yes. You were warned not to tease me. And yet, when we slid down the deck, you did so. Now you must pay the penalty." She turned to the waiting officer "Don't you men have work to do?"

  "I..." The officer took in her smile and bloodstained features "Yes, yes, come along Freddy, we are due in main engineering right now." He grabbed his pants and boots and then ducked past me, jogging down the hall in his shirt tails. A minute later, a second young officer passed with a hurried 'pardon' and also jogged down the hall, at least he had put on his pants first.

  "And so, you are kicking me out?" I was confused.

  "Not you. Mrs. Bird, Mr. Bird, girls, your room. I need a shower." And with that she grabbed me like a sack of potatoes, tossed me over her shoulder head to arse, and walked back to our room. "Mr. Popov, have someone wake us 30 minutes before Tunguska. Otherwise, I have a colonial wood land to tame."

  "Well, I Lois, do something!" I tried to squirm free. Gods that woman had strong hands.

  "Do you really need help, dear?" there was ice in Lois's voice.

  Julie stopped, and turned her head to smile at me. Somewhere, I melted. "No, I think I will be OK."

  "Good. Have fun then. I, am going to finish my nap. Come along everyone." Lois went into her room.

  Julie c
arried me into ours, then put me down and pushed me roughly against the wall. Her kiss was gentle at first, then it had teeth. "We really need that shower" I said.

  "Pity we shall have to share." She whispered in my ear as her hand found my belt buckle. "We shall probably have to take turns washing each other." Her hand slid inside my pants and down to the waiting nest beneath. I moaned, and moved to open myself for her touch. She began to flick her finger, while licking, kissing, then biting my neck.

  “Wait, wait" I cried.

  "What now???"

  "Shower. We really need to put these messy clothes someplace and take that shower first or we will leave the most bizarre blood stains, everywhere."

  Julie fell against me, laughing, and as her body shook so did her finger inside my slickness. "Ass prints." She giggled "bloody ass prints, everywhere"

  "Bloody foot prints on the wall board" I stepped back and started taking off the rest of my clothes, trying to put them in a pile on top of Lois's newspaper.

  "Bloody hair prints on the pillows" Julie began to toss her own clothes on top of mine.

  "Tit prints on the ceiling. We have to figure a way to get that." I stood now in front of her, naked as the day as I was born. She grabbed my buttocks roughly, and pulled me in close again.

  "We are going to fuck, aren't we?" Julie's eyes seemed almost shy, somehow.

  "Oh, gods yes. Several times, probably. Just not like cavemen, please. Shower first?"

  Julie kissed me again, once on the lips, once on the nose.

  The shower was... Just what I had imagined it to be.

  #

  Rap, Tap Tapping.

  "No." I moaned once, and rolled over to nuzzle into Julie's shoulder. The noise came again, Rap, Tap Tapping, from our chamber door. "More sleep." I sighed and nuzzled harder. But the noise came again, and again, and again, like some frightful curse of yore.

  "What" Julie sat up growling "Is that?"

  I smiled at the curve of her back. "A walking Edgar Allan Poe reference." Then I yelled more loudly "Yes James?"

  "Assuming you two can still walk." James obviously intended to be full of wit today "The airship has slowed and is now descending. As there are no alarms, I assume this is planned, meaning we are reaching our destination, beautiful and scenic Siberia. You two may wish to get dressed and head downstairs to report to the Grand Duck. Lois and I, of course, are already up and in our most formal blacks."

  "Wonderful." I said. Two can be sarcastic. "Please, avoid the duck jokes. There are limits to what he will tolerate, I suspect. We will be with you in a few minutes." I poked Julie, she slid out, and stood in front of the bed, stretching. Delicious. A smile quirked on my face, I could not believe I ate the whole thing.

  "Enjoying the view?" Julie arched her back once more, standing on tippy toes. “We should get dressed, if you can stand... At least long enough for me to get the deck officer to send a couple of junior enlisted in here to clean up. Those clothes are starting to stink a bit."

  "Standing is not the problem, it is trying not to trip over my tongue." I pulled the bedsheets up close "Please hand me my small black travel bag in it, it has my old uniform and combat boots. We will need to dress for rough terrain, I suspect."

  Julie bent over to get my bag "Ma Reine, are you shy? "

  I blushed a bit. "It has been a while, I Hope I was not too badly out of practice."

  "I had a lot of fun, you biter, you." Julie started to get dressed herself. “I there anything in this room the deck officer should not know about?"

  "What, my collection of hidden bombs? I had Lois and her daughters hide those last night, on the airship port aft control surfaces. No one will be able to see them there, much less find them, at least until the ship is again docked at port." Ah colonial uniform, my old friend. The gray woolen socks itched, the white linen shirt had too much starch, and the pants were still too long even after the proper folds, but they were mine. I felt, for a moment, home again.

  Julie stopped putting on her own officer's shirt and glared at me for a moment. I smiled back as innocently as I could. "Right." She rolled her eyes at me "If you can be serious for a moment, there is a gift for you in the wooden small case beside the bathroom door."

  I pushed my feet into my boots, quickly twist tied them with years of practice, and stomping each foot once to settle them, went to look at the case she was pointing too. Some more linen shirts, a few novels, wait there was something under the shirts "Ploinky!" I cried. Complete with sheath, belt, and was that my officer's forty-five and two clips as well? I had been missing that since I arrived at the castle in Prussia...

  "Why thank you! Although these would have been useful when dealing with that bucket of rat queen. Any chance of grenades?" I asked.

  "Orders" Julie shrugged. "The court wants you to be able to be useful in Siberia, but they are not stupid. Ready?"

  "Yes" I clicked my belt into place "Wait, if you had everything, did you go through my personal things as well?" I glared at her.

  She smiled as innocently at me as she could. She needed lessons in innocent smiling, a lot of them. Way too much teeth. "Right" I rolled my eyes. "So... Tunguska, Siberia."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Of Maps, Meeps, and Mopes

  Part Four

  Tunguska, Siberia

  Impact site,

  Saturday, October 31, 1908

  123 days since impact of the Finger of God fragment

  83 days since last report from Pskov Heavy Cavalry Regiment

  #

  Interlude:

  Dearest Mother

  I despise this mission. Despise it, despise it, despise it. I may even be perturbed at it. The weather is either cold, rainy, or both at once; the winds go right through my feathers, the food is either terrible fish or fishily terrible, and I could only bring three books and have read them all now, many times over.

  I should report that my Humans vessel and crew are doing well, and we are on schedule as planned. I shall list no more details, except to note that we passed the wreck of the frigate Zarya three days ago, trapped for all eternity in the fast ice. We might have shared a similar fate, had it not been for the assistance of the locals, whose good favor and cooperation I commandeered by bribing them with sausages. They are a great help, but terrible and salacious in their gossip.

  Edgar Allan has arrived, with his new mate Rains Upon Summer Sky; a lovely female, even if these European women do have such strange names. He is resting now, and as soon as he recovers, I shall send him back to you with this letter and our most recent contact reports.

  Best to Father and the girls,

  Your Daughter, Gillian

  Navigator, CMS Jane Guy

  "What is that?" the observation deck was pitch black, only lit by small emergency lights at the doors. We stood as close to the windows as we could; Duke, Lords, Officers and Crew, for once all of us equals before the power of nature. Below, lit in flashes by the roving searchlights and fired flares, the absolute dark strobed with images of immense devastation; millions, no billions of trees, shattered, flattened and burned by some force far greater than anything I had ever seen.

  The devastation was immense, and area that seemed to me to be as large as any city on earth. It was not round, but rather patterned with the tree trunks splayed out like combed hair, almost like the flapping wings of some great butterfly... "Lois" I asked. "Your eyes are better than mine at night. How much power would this take?"

  "And my math, as well, dear." Lois thought for a moment "Power is in the millions of tons of TNT, far greater than anything seen before. The big issue is, I don't think this is all of it? The pattern is strange, and there is no crater."

  "So" Grand Duke Aleksandr "What is your theory then, genius of birds?"

  "Well your highness, I think this is not an impact, but a splash, if that makes sense. The object, which was a cylinder of some kind, came down too fast, and exceeding the terminal velocity for the air at that altitude, bounced back u
p a bit. If you follow in the direction along the central axis of the destruction, we should come to a smaller actual impact crater."

  "Interesting. My bombardiers are taking photographs with their cameras now, when they are developed, could you work with my navigators and get us an idea where to look? Siberia is vast, vaster than even a colonial can understand." The Grand Duke sounded ... Fascinated.

  "Possibly. Getting anything exact would be impossible, I am afraid. You can deduce the force from the size of the devastation, and from that roughly the mass, but at that point it becomes a question of how dense is the object... A larger object would have more surface area, and thus more drag." Lois was at her most professorial. It was conversations like this that made it clear which of her kids took after her and which after James.

  "Assume a material stronger than any steel, but only weighing as much as volcanic glass. It has..." The Grand Duke moved to look at Lois, on my shoulder, nose to beak.

  "Sirs, sirs, movement" A young voice interrupted from the other side of the room.

  "Report" The Grand Duke barked.

  "Objects, your highness, multiple. Numbers uncertain, but at least twenty, maybe more. Moving in a v formation, heading north north east perhaps, fairly quickly."

  "Objects? Some sort of trucks or tractor vehicles?"

  "Your highness, I... Don't think so. It's hard to tell, it's too dark to get a solid look, but they move like living things. Aren't mammoths extinct?" the voice sounded almost panicked.

  "Clear space, let me see" the Grand Duke pushed his way through, I decided to tag along, just in case he needed Lois’s advice for some reason. Julie and James followed, although I wondered what their excuse was.

  "Mr. Popov" The Grand Duke commanded "Hail the bridge, all stop here. Then signal fire control; I want lights, cameras, and flares on that area, right now." The commander barked in response and then hurried out of the room. In a few minutes, I heard the engines of the great airship switch to reverse as we began to swing around, forming a T to the oncoming V formation of whatever it was on the ground.