by Jordan Rivet
Esther could sense the hesitation from the other side of the line. They just needed a few more minutes. And she knew what they had to do. She scribbled four words on top of the third page for Neal to see, then underlined the last word four times. He looked up at her, his face etched with doubt.
Then he nodded. Four words to change the world.
“You there, buddy?” David said into the radio. “Don’t go silent on me, Harry. You’re not planning to blow me out of the water, are you?”
Neal’s fingers flew across the computer console. Esther watched, fascinated, as her designs appeared on the screen.
Finally, an answer: “No hard feelings, Davey. You and the inventor gal shouldn’t have taken off like that. Chelle is pissed.”
“I’m sure she is,” David said, forcing a laugh. “But you and me will have a drink at the Amsterdam when this is all over, Harry. Right now we just want to be on our way with no hassle. This is more trouble than it’s worth. You guys already have the energy system. What more do you want?” David waved his arms impatiently at Esther and Neal.
“Almost ready,” Neal whispered. “You sure about this, Esther?”
“Do it.”
Neal tapped a final command into the key panel. The screen flashed twice, then a message appeared: “Transmission in progress.”
“Terra Firma, do you copy?” Neal said into his headset. “You are receiving a file via satellite. Can you confirm?”
“Copy. Transmission coming through.”
“Good.” He flipped another switch. “Calderon Island, do you copy? This is the Lucinda. You are receiving a satellite transmission with updates for your new energy system. Can you confirm?”
A moment of silence. “This is Calderon Island. Copy that. Transmission coming through.”
He pushed another button. “Amsterdam Coalition, this is Neal of the Catalina contacting you from the patrol ship Lucinda. Turn on your computers, boys. There’s a transmission coming through.”
Another button. The USS Wilson. Another. HMS Parker. The Pacific Jewel. The Scurvy Sea Dog. The Santa Anna.
Esther imagined the message spreading like electricity through wires. Each switch was another point firing up, another circuit connecting, another light bulb flaring to life.
Another. The Galaxy Flotilla. “Marianna? It’s . . . it’s Neal. I’m fine. I’m sending a transmission. I need you to spread it to the rest of the network. Can you hook me up? Thanks.” Neal turned to Esther. “They’re ready.”
“Let me have the headset.” Neal handed it over, and she pulled it down on her ears. “Can they all hear me?”
Neal tapped a few keys and nodded. “Everyone on Marianna’s network, plus our direct contacts, can hear you now.”
Esther took a deep breath and spoke: “Attention all ships. This is Esther from the cruise ship Catalina, transmitting via Lucinda. If you can hear me, you’re part of the New Pacific satellite network. You’ve all been communicating over the last few months through a group of battered dishes and a few rogue satellites. My friend Neal tells me there are over two dozen ships communicating with each other on the satellite network, maybe even more by now. You’ve been talking, sharing, helping each other by providing human contact on the sea. Well, now it’s my turn to share something.” She looked up at David, who’d turned to watch her. He smiled and mouthed, You’re doing fine.
“You are receiving a set of diagrams through the satellite network,” Esther continued. “These are the plans for an energy system that separates and refines algae biofuel in an exceptionally efficient way. Build this system. Use the oil. Power your motors and your desalination systems and your light bulbs. From now on you’ll be able to travel where you need to without relying on crude oil or even the wind. This energy will let you visit the Amsterdam Coalition every month to connect and gather information. You can explore at will and escape dangerous weather whenever you need to. You’ll even be able to sail back to land if you want.” Esther paused for a breath. The surreal feeling that she was floating above herself persisted. “This technology should be used by everyone. Share it with any ships that aren’t already connected to the satellite network. As of right now the two largest trading operations on the high seas, the Metal Harvesters and the Calderon Group, already have access to this technology. They will be on an equal footing, and so will you. I’ll be around to help as you work out how to use the technology. But no matter what, make sure this message spreads.”
It was done. Esther pulled off the headset and looked again at the words she’d scribbled to Neal: “Send it to everyone.”
It was what she had wanted to do from the beginning. David squeezed her arm lightly. This was the right choice.
But they still had work to do.
She picked up the radio microphone and flipped a switch. “Terra Firma, did you receive the satellite transmission?”
“Affirmative. Energy system plans have arrived.”
The voice on the radio sounded familiar. Esther was fairly certain it was Liana, the first mate.
“Can you confirm that I’ve met the terms of our bargain?”
A barking laugh came through the radio. Yes, definitely the first mate.
“We are withdrawing from Calderon Island, but you betrayed our arrangement by deserting the Terra Firma and delivering the plans into the hands of our enemies—not to mention everyone else on the slug-bearing ocean.”
“Will you . . . will you release Zoe?” She held her breath.
Liana’s voice was harsh in Esther’s ear. “Do you think we’re—hey, what are you doing in here? Get out!”
Suddenly, shouts and the sounds of a scuffle came through the other end of the radio. The line went dead.
Esther, Neal, and David exchanged bewildered looks.
“What’s going on over there?” David asked.
“Mutiny?” Neal said hopefully.
They waited. It had grown dark. The sounds of the battle had ceased. They hadn’t heard anything from the Charley since the transmission began, but it still floated behind them, a black shape in the darkened water. The possibility of the Harpoon missile loomed. Esther thought she could make out a ship ahead of them too. Could it be the Terra Firma?
David reached over and squeezed Esther’s hand. Neal raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment. And still they waited.
Then the radio crackled, and all three of them leapt at the sound.
“Ahoy! Esther! Approach the Terra Firma and send someone for your friend. You stole one of our lifeboats, and I don’t think we’re getting it back anytime soon.”
Esther breathed. That was Luke’s voice.
“We’ll be right there!” she shouted into the microphone. She grabbed David and hugged him hard. “Zoe’s going to be okay.”
Neal darted from the bridge to get the speedboat underway. Esther barely listened as David radioed the Charley again, asking Harry to back down now that the Harvesters were retreating. Harry told them he was already turning the ship around. Burns himself had ordered the Charley to retreat to Calderon Island. Esther felt a flash of surprise but didn’t dwell on it. All that mattered was that David was beside her and Zoe was going to be okay.
Chapter 34—The Return
When the speedboat returned from the Terra Firma, Zoe wasn’t alone. A spotlight from the Lucinda illuminated the little boat, where Luke and Cody were standing up from their seats and waving their arms over their heads. Each had a knapsack on one shoulder and a gun on the other. Esther helped lower the rope ladder to them.
“We’re deserting!” Luke called, nearly losing his balance as the speedboat bobbed beside the Lucinda’s hull.
“Yeah, Captain Alder’s crazy,” Cody said. “Think you can give us a lift back to the
Amsterdam?”
“That we can do.”
Zoe was the first up the ladder. “You did it, Esther,” she shouted. “You saved him! I knew you would.”
Esther hugged her friend tight. Zoe was her usual lanky,
healthy self. The Harvesters hadn’t mistreated her, thanks to Cody and Luke watching out for her. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement, and she still had her favorite scarf wrapped around her hair.
The two young men clambered up the ladder after her and dumped their packs on the deck.
“What happened over there?” Esther asked. “We heard strange noises on the radio.”
“We temporarily commandeered the bridge,” Cody explained, breathless with triumph. “Turns out a lot of the other guys didn’t want to kill Zoe either, especially now that they’ve got the energy plan all this was about in the first place. Luke snuck Zoe’s little pistol right under Rawlins’s nose to get into the bridge and held off the first mate and captain while we freed her. I doubt they’ll be officers for much longer. My money’s on Jacques taking the top job.”
“What about you guys?”
“We’re done with this mercenary crap,” Luke said. “The Amsterdam’s as good a place to start over as any. Or maybe we can join you. The Catalina sounds exciting.”
Esther and Zoe laughed at that. They introduced Luke and Cody to the Lucinda’s crew, who’d gathered on the deck.
“Where’s your boyfriend?” Cody asked. “Did you get him back?”
“Yeah, he’s sailing the ship, unless he fell asleep at the wheel,” Esther said.
“So everything worked out?”
Esther hesitated. She was so tired so could barely think. She knew they’d done something great today, but it was what they should have done from the very beginning. She had put a lot of people in terrible danger along the way. She’d sort out what that said about her later. Right now all she wanted to do was burrow into a bunk somewhere, knowing the people she loved were safe and sound.
When Esther didn’t answer, Zoe squeezed her arm. “I get it,” she whispered. “We’re all just doing the best we can.” She turned to the people assembling around them and called, “Being a prisoner during a battle is hard work. What have you got to eat around here?”
Esther remembered that evening in snapshots. As they sailed away from Calderon Island, everyone gathered in the galley for a late dinner of hot seaweed pasta. Luke and Cody told the dramatic tale of how they overcame Captain Alder and his loyal cronies in the confusion after the battle. Luke made it sound like he single-handedly fought his way through a dozen Harvesters with only a flashlight and a gun carrying a single bullet. Neal tried to explain how satellites worked, using bowls and strings of seaweed to represent signals bouncing off dishes. He looked more animated than he had been since before meeting Marianna. Zoe entertained everyone with one of her best dirty stories. At some point David slipped into the galley. He carried Esther to bed when her head began to dip toward her bowl.
She woke early in the morning. David’s warm, golden head was resting on her chest, his arms curled tight around her waist. The sun slanted through the porthole, breaking through the clouds above the sea. She snuggled deeper into the bunk and went back to sleep.
When next they woke, the light streaming through the porthole had a late-morning harshness. The ship rocked gently. Esther rubbed her eyes, wincing at the pull of skin on her cut, and looked around David’s cabin. Her clothes, still sodden from their swim, hung on the high-back chair with the remaining shreds of David’s red sweater. Their shoes sprawled together on the floor in a round patch of light.
David emerged from beneath the bunk, where he’d been digging out clean, dry clothes for both of them.
“Morning,” he said.
“It’s sunny,” Esther said groggily.
“The storm broke a few hours ago. I’m taking the next watch at the helm. Want to join me?”
“Sure. Ouch.” She walked to the small mirror by the door, the blanket trailing along behind her. She pulled the sticky bandage away and examined the cuts on her face and ear, which were red and puffy. “This is gonna line up almost perfectly with my scar from the desal explosion,” she said. She frowned at her reflection and then stopped because it made the cut hurt worse. “Gross,” she said under her breath.
David joined her at the mirror. “You’re adorable,” he said. “Don’t scowl at me. You are. Now are you going to get dressed? I certainly don’t mind if you don’t, but the other guys . . .”
“Yeah, yeah, give me a minute.”
She snatched the shirt he offered and whacked his arm with it.
They went up to the pilothouse together. Light filled it. Outside, the sea slid rapidly past. It was deep blue today, and the sun shot sparks across the water, dazzling and alive. The Lucinda’s progress was smooth, elegant even. Now this was sailing!
Neal was in the pilothouse already, bending low over the satellite computer, his fingers flying across the keyboard. He didn’t look up when they came in.
David took his place at the helm. Dirk seemed reluctant to relinquish his watch, but he needed sleep too. As he shuffled out of the pilothouse, Esther wondered whether Dirk would try to assert his right to the Lucinda after all. He wanted to run the Catalina, but he might take Lucinda instead unless David was willing to fight for her. He might be willing, Esther thought as he ran a hand gently across the control console.
As if he’d guessed what she was thinking, David looked up.
“I love this ship,” he said.
Esther laughed. “She’s sure running well. I’m going to take a look at the engines in a minute to see how they did with my designs.”
Neal looked up from the computer. “Oh, when did you guys get here? Never mind. You’ll never believe what I’m doing.”
His eyes were bright, and a clump of his mousy hair was pushed backwards beneath the band of his headset.
“What?” Esther asked.
“The satellite signals reach farther than we thought.”
Neal looked like he might boil over with excitement.
“Yeah?”
“Esther, it’s—hang on.”
The computer made a dinging sound, and Neal immediately turned away from them and typed furiously. After he hit the final key, he stared intently at the computer, biting his lower lip.
“Neal?”
“Oh, right. Esther, it’s land.”
“What?”
“Our message reached a colony on land. They’ve also been working on regaining contact with the satellites.”
“You mean you’re talking to . . . ?”
“Someone who lives on land!” Neal repeated. “We don’t have voice contact yet. We’re transmitting written messages.”
The computer dinged again, and he resumed his rapid-fire typing.
“You’re emailing?!” David said.
He turned from his post and stared incredulously at Neal.
“Yeah,” Neal said. “It’s a rudimentary version of that. We’re sending simple text-only messages. It’s all the system can handle right now. I’m going to keep working on it, but when we get back to the Catalina I might actually be able to talk to them.”
There were a thousand questions Esther wanted to ask. Where were they? Did they have food? How many of them were there? What was the weather like on land? But she settled for the question that, although irrational, was most important to her.
“Do they know anyone from San Diego?”
At the same moment, David said, “Do they know anyone from New York?”
Esther saw her mother and sister then, sitting in the living room of their home. Her sister had both hands curled around a thick hardcover book. Her mother was letting her play with the many bracelets she wore on her arm. They clanged and glittered as four-year-old Esther pushed them up and down her mother’s wrist. It was a bright, sunshiny memory, one of the few that she still had. They couldn’t possibly still be alive, could they?
Neal was shaking his head. “We’re doing the basics right now, guys. I’ll try to get more out of them when we get to the Catalina. Here’s what I know: this group is in the Midwest, old Kansas City to be precise. It’s the same one the Galaxy captains had heard about. They
live on the Missouri River, and they’ve had a successful harvest for four of the past six years. They said the weather is stabilizing. They’re trying to contact other communities by locating functioning satellites. They were pretty surprised to find out we’ve been living on a ship all this time. That’s as far as we’ve gotten.”
Zoe popped into the cockpit. “Hey, guys!” she said brightly. “What’s our next adventure?”
David met Esther’s eyes. “Want to go to Kansas City? With me?”
Chapter 35—Catalina
A week later Zoe spotted the tall shape of the Amsterdam off the starboard bow. She raised the call from the crow’s nest, and everyone who wasn’t on duty crowded onto the deck, watching for their first glimpse of the Catalina. As they drew close, the outline of their home emerged against the darker backdrop of the Amsterdam.
The Coalition was busier than normal. Ships moored at every available dock, and others floated in the waters beyond them, sending their speedboats and lifeboats zipping back and forth to the oil platform. It didn’t look like any of the Harvester or Calderon ships had beaten them back to port, which was just as well, but others had decided to make their Amsterdam trip early. People stirred around the outer edges of the platform, and a call went up as the Lucinda approached.
Over the past week rumors about what had actually happened between the Metal Harvesters and the Calderon Group had swirled through the New Pacific. No one was sure who was at fault or who won the battle or what the Lucinda had to do with things anyway. Neal kept track of what everyone was saying, and Zoe had been enlisted to help him with communications. The other ships were quickly getting used to communicating via satellite. It was amazing how much faster news traveled through the satellite network compared to the radio chain.
The one thing everyone seemed to agree on was that they wanted Esther’s system installed immediately. Neal and Zoe fielded daily and sometimes hourly requests for her expertise. Esther kept busy answering questions and talking to mechanics from all over the sea. At first she tried to take a regular shift in the Lucinda’s engine room, but they called her up to answer questions so often that she finally took up permanent residence in the pilothouse.