Free-Wrench, no. 1

by Joseph R. Lallo

  “Cap’n! Nita’s still down there. We’ve got to do something,” she cried, pointing.

  Captain Mack’s sharp mind clicked away, his eyes sweeping across his own ship’s deck. Finally they came to rest on the cowering and just recently recovered creature at his feet, Wink.

  “Give me the longest lifeline we have, and make sure one side is secured,” he ordered. He pulled some levers and set the Wind Breaker to descending, though the damaged fore end of the dreadnought was moving swiftly away. He plucked up Wink and set him on the control harness. “Do you want to prove your loyalties to me once and for all? To stay on this ship, as a part of this crew?”

  Wink gave a very deliberate and very emphatic tap.

  Captain Mack took the end of the presented lifeline. He tied a large loop into it, then attached it to Wink’s harness. “You see that greenhorn?”

  Wink looked to Nita’s rapidly retreating form on the deck below. He again tapped.

  “Bring her home.”

  With that, he picked up the creature and hurled him off the edge of the ship.

  Wink plummeted to the deflating envelope, where his deft claws quickly found a grip. He looked up, his one eye wild with fear and confusion, then looked down. With a vocal sound that could only have been frustration, the beast scampered down the deflating envelope and into the rigging.

  The wind was catching the falling ship now, drawing it under the Wind Breaker where no one could see what was happening. Captain Mack guided the ship down and away, doing his best to follow the path of the accelerating descent of the dreadnought. They were close to the surface of the fug, and getting closer. All eyes but the captain’s were on the coil of lifeline still on the deck as it whisked foot by foot off the side of the ship. The dreadnought plunged beneath the surface of the fug now, forcing the horrid stuff aside and sending it rushing up on all sides like soil hurled from a crater. Mack restored the levers, slowing the Wind Breaker lest they follow the ship into the toxic stuff. They began to climb again, and the lifeline was nearly at its end.

  One final loop of line was drawn off the edge and the whole of the rope went taut. They were rising steadily now.

  “Start hauling that line in,” Mack ordered.

  Gunner and Coop jumped to the task, pulling the line up quickly but steadily. Lil looked anxiously over the side as more of the rope was pulled up from the fug. Finally a form became visible. Wink dangled from the line where it had been tied to his harness. A moment later, her arms hooked through the loop but her body motionless, came Nita. They hauled her up to the ship, where Butch rushed to her side. She placed her head on Nita’s chest, then hammered at her ribs with two firm blows. It prompted a raking breath, then a deep, hoarse cough from the Calderan girl. She gasped and coughed again, hacking out a wisp of purple vapor.

  “Well,” she croaked when she looked around to see the crew standing over her. “I always say, there’s nothing like a nice vigorous ending to an uneventful day.”

  Epilogue

  A month later, as the setting sun was finally giving way to full night, a small skiff called The Triumph waited at Moor Spires. On the deck were two men, Linus and his brother Drew, who were watching to the west.

  “There,” Drew said, pointing, “They’re coming. Right on time, like always. I knew they would.”

  “I owe you five, then. I’ll bet you double or nothing that they deliver a ransom demand instead of Nita.”

  “You’ve got a real dark streak, Linus.”

  The airship, low to the waves, drew nearer, revealing itself in the dim light of night. There had been good deal more repair work done to the ship since last they’d seen it. One whole side had been replaced with new planking, and it had what looked to be an entirely new envelope. A new and particularly sturdy-looking gig replaced the one that had held their salesman last month. Crew appeared at the railing on either side and threw skillfully tied loops over each of three mooring stones. A few grinding noises came from inside the ship, and down came the gig.

  When it was low enough, Linus and Drew were able to see that it held not one person but two. The first was Lil, wearing a mildly ill-fitting dress of elegant Calderan design. The other was Nita, outfitted in her standard work clothes.

  “Drew! I’m so glad to find you here! I was afraid I would have to wait until after your shift!” Nita called down as the gig continued to lower down to the water.

  “I traded shifts. I wanted to get you away from these people as soon as possible,” Drew said. He looked to Lil. “No offense.”

  “Aw heck. I’m pretty sure the bad influence went both ways, Mister,” Lil replied.

  Nita leapt from the gig a few feet before it reached the water and landed in the skiff. “How has everything been since I’ve been gone?”

  “Well, the foreman is pretty sore you took your relief time for the whole year at once without notice, but no one seems to think anything much of your sudden trip otherwise. You’ve always been a little impulsive.”

  “And my mother?”

  “I understand she’s been holding on, but your sister says she’s in a bad way.”

  “Listen, I need a favor. I know you came here to do your monthly trading, and I assure you there are better goods today than you’ve ever seen before, but I need you to take me back to Tellahn immediately.”

  “You got the medicine?”

  “I did. And I’ve got to get to my mother. The sooner she gets it the better.”

  #

  Nita hurried into her gorgeous home. The glorious joy of homecoming could wait; the task at hand was too important. She rushed to her mother’s bedside.

  “Mother!” she urged, shaking her gently.

  “What? Eh? Who’s there?” the sleeping matriarch asked groggily.

  “Nita? Is that you?” asked her father, awakened by the noise. “Where have you been? You can’t just go running off.”

  “I know, Father, and I’m sorry. Mother, please, come with me.”

  “You know your mother needs her rest,” Mr. Graus said.

  “Mother, what do you know about the people of Rim?”

  “Precious little, and I don’t care to learn more.”

  “Well, I think that’s a mistake, and I’ll show you why.”

  She went to her mother’s master bath and fetched a glass and a pitcher of cool water. She filled the glass, then revealed a small jar and dumped a carefully measured spoonful into it. She stirred until the powder dissolved.

  “Drink this. It will make you well again.”

  “How could it, dear?”

  “Please, Mother. Just drink it.”

  The matriarch looked into the pleading eyes of her daughter, then reached out with a shaking hand. Nita guided the cup to her mother’s lips and steadied her hands enough for her to finish the glass. She then struck a match and lit the bedside lamp.

  “Show me your hands,” Nita said.

  Mrs. Graus held out her delicate hands. They were shaking and unsteady.

  “You shouldn’t get your mother’s hopes up like that, Amanita,” said Mr. Graus.

  “I… I think…” Mrs. Graus began, tears forming in her eyes. The tremor in her fingers was subsiding. By the time a minute had passed, they were still. “How did you do it?” she asked, forcing the words past the lump in her throat.

  “It is a treatment, from a group of terrible but brilliant people. This first dose should take away the symptoms. Two more should cure the disease.”

  “Are we certain it is safe? Her hands have steadied before. How do we know the drug is actually working?”

  “It is working, Caldwell. I can feel it. I can feel it in my hands. My fingers. My arms. My whole body. I haven’t felt so calm, so still, in years.”

  “I’ve spent the last few weeks reading through the books I… acquired on the drug, Mother. I even tested a few doses on myself to be sure it wasn’t dangerous. You’ll be well again.” There were tears in her own eyes now. “In two days, after two more doses, you’l
l be well.”

  The mother and daughter embraced tightly, tears running down their faces. When they separated again the joy of the moment and of the reunion began to subside, and the questions asserted themselves.

  “How did you get this medicine, dear? Did you go to Rim? How did you get there? And when did you last bathe, dear? You smell a bit off. You know hygiene is important to good health.”

  Nita laughed and brushed her tears away. “It is a long, long story, Mother.”

  #

  Once she’d taught her mother how to finish her own treatment and left more than enough of the medicine to do so, Nita went about making some preparations. She fetched two more changes of work clothes and a few more suitable outfits for those rare moments when she would not be working. Next came a quick jaunt back to the steamworks, where she replaced those tools that had been lost from her tool sash and grabbed a few she’d wished she’d had during her repairs. She traded in a few favors for a mound of replacement piping, gaskets, and valves, and said her good-byes to her friends and coworkers. Finally she fetched a few items she knew her crewmates would appreciate, including a few fine dresses of the proper size for Lil, a bottle of brandy for Coop, and some Calderan cigars for the captain.

  When all was in readiness, she wished her family a tearful good-bye. She promised to come home and visit with each monthly stop from the Wind Breaker until she was finished teaching them what they needed to know about its upkeep. Her father promised to do his best to open discussions about reopening the borders, at least for the Wind Breaker and her crew. Far too soon, the night was ending and it was time to return to the ship. Linus and Drew took her back to Moor Spires, where Coop and Lil were just closing a deal with one of the other Calderans eagerly seeking exotic goods.

  “Oh, you’re back! And right on time,” Lil said. “We had a good night!”

  “Glad to hear it. Did the boiler give you any trouble while I was gone?”

  “Believe it or not, we did get along without you for quite a few years,” Gunner called from above. “Now step into the gig. We’ve only just got the last planks replaced. I don’t want those guns of yours ruining all of that hard work.”

  “Not so fast. Coop, make sure these two get what they came for. They were a tremendous help to me today.”

  “Will do, Nita.”

  “Lil, can you give me a hand with this stuff?”

  “Did you get all of the stuff the cap’n asked for?”

  “And plenty more.”

  The women got to work filling the gig with all of the goods Nita had been able to secure, while Coop helped Drew and Linus find what they were after. When everything was loaded and all trades had been made, Nita smiled and hopped into the gig.

  “So long, Drew, Linus,” she called out. “See you in a month! Oh! Any special requests?”

  “I, er… well, I’m looking for a bit more inspiration for my photographs. Perhaps if I could see a few more examples?” he stammered.

  “I’ll take care of you, Drew,” Cooper assured him. “We’re heading east this time. You ain’t seen a woman until you’ve seen the women they got over there.”

  The gig, with its haul of traded goods, rose up to the ship’s belly. Lil and Nita made their way to the deck and went to work unmooring from the spires.

  “So, did the medicine work?” Lil asked.

  “It did,” Nita said.

  “Was it worth coming out here into this mess?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “How was your visit?”

  “It was nice to see the familiar faces again, but it’s also nice to be back on the Wind Breaker.”

  “Don’t tell me you missed this rickety old wreck.”

  “Well, Caldera is beautiful, and it will always be my home… but what can I say? Once you’ve had a taste of the sky, the land just seems so small.”

  “Couldn’t have said it better myself. Say, I recognized most of that stuff we loaded up from Caldera, but there were some funny lookin’ casks and tools. What were those about?”

  “Well, Lil, I am a Calderan. In my homeland they say we are all born with at least one great masterpiece inside us, and we owe it to the world to let it out before our days are done. If I’m going to be aboard the Wind Breaker, let her be my masterpiece. Just wait until you see what I’ve got in mind…”

  With that, they hauled in the ropes, set their course, and were once again on their way.

  ###

  From The Author

  Thank you for reading this fun little experiment. Free-Wrench was a National Novel Writing Month project. It went from concept to completion in less than three months. As my first foray into Steampunk, it was a lot of fun to write, and if you enjoyed it, please consider reading the sequel, Skykeep, or some of my other books. If you liked this story, or perhaps if you found it lacking, I’d love to hear from you. Below are links to some of the places you can find me online, and if you’d like to be kept in the loop with important new developments and releases, consider joining my newsletter.

  Official Website, Facebook Fan Page, Twitter, Tumblr, Wattpad, and good old email.

  Discover other titles by Joseph R. Lallo:

  The Book of Deacon Series:

  Book 1: The Book of Deacon

  Book 2: The Great Convergence

  Book 3: The Battle of Verril

  Book 4: The D’Karon Apprentice (Coming Nov. 10th, 2015)

  Other stories in the same setting:

  Jade

  The Rise of the Red Shadow

  The Big Sigma Series:

  Book 1: Bypass Gemini

  Book 2: Unstable Prototypes

  Book 3: Artificial Evolution

  The Free-Wrench Series:

  Book 1: Free-Wrench

  Book 2: Skykeep

  Collections:

  The Book of Deacon Anthology

  NaNoWriMo Projects:

  The Other Eight