02
As it turned out, landing a berth was indeed easy. The big, steel-built gyro-barges of the mining companies were a lot like the Chartered Trading Company ships of the Unity - good berths, hard to break into. However, there were many small tramp trading barges in Mountain Vale as well, and we found one which was not only two hands short, missing and presumed drunk, but we had a special in, as well.
We were walking along the line of barges on the landing field's tarmac between the paved takeoff field and half a dozen large loading docks that banged and roared as the ore was transferred from the refineries to the barges by spidery overhead tram lines. We called at each barge in turn to inquire if they needed any hands, and had come up blank until we reached the Shadow Bird.
The Shadow Bird was a typical, if well worn, small, general purpose gyro-barge. It consisted of a steel platform, about eight meters wide and twenty-some meters long. It had a metal bow forward to break the wind with two large, slightly steerable wheels in the bow, and four more, two on each side, aft, which allowed it to travel on the ground until it gained enough speed to get airborne. Only the fact that the island's gravity field was so minor allowed it to fly. It was lifted aloft by three horizontal, helicopter-blades that were spun by the barge's forward motion. The forward motion was provided by a large propeller right aft, which in turn was driven by a modest sized steam engine. The engine and boiler were housed in an aluminum sided two-story deck-house aft. Just forward of the boiler were eight tiny cabins for passengers, four up four down which opened on to the cargo deck. A bridge house sat on top of these cabins behind it and above the engine room were small cabins for the captain, mate, chief engineer, a small mess room with a small galley, a table and a few chairs, and a small bunk room. The Shadow Bird carried a crew consisting of her captain, a mate, an engineer, and a cook, along with two general hands to serve as stokers, cargo handlers, and whatever else needed doing. Her cargo was lashed to the open deck under canvas shrouds. Removable railing for bulwarks allowed the cargo to be handled without much fuss. There was a small crane on the central propeller shaft to unload any cargo that could not be loaded by hand.
As I said, we'd been working our way down the line of barges when Hissi, who'd been loping alongside of us suddenly stopped and froze. We walked past her, and then stopped and turned back, when she hadn't moved to keep up with us.
'What's up?' I asked, but she wasn't paying any attention to me. I asked again, without a response at all. Somewhat alarmed, I started back, but she started to loop, very tentatively forward, past us and around the stern of the next barge in line. We followed her.
On the deck of the barge, alongside the tarp covered cargo lay a Simla dragon, slowly unrolling himself to stand on his hind legs. It was perhaps the largest Simla dragon I'd seen, fully four meters in length and rather fat, making it look more like a giant crocodile than a tall, slim Simla dragon. I was struck by his age, his once bright feather colors were muted into a grey-green, and lusterless. On the deck and standing on his hind legs he towered over Hissi, who on reaching the low edge of the barge's deck, stood and stared up at this ancient Simla dragon, without a sound. Neither dragon made a sound or hardly any motion, though the old dragon may've swayed a bit - more accustomed to laying than standing. This was the first Simla dragon Hissi encountered since leaving her shell.
I had to assume Hissi knew what she was doing, though I had my hand in my pocket and my sissy in hand. We all stood like statues for perhaps a minute, when the side door of the bridge opened unseen above us and voices could be heard.
'...Yes Mom. I'll roust them out, or find some warm bodies to replace them. It's not like they were any good.'
Glancing up I saw a young man swing open a gate in the bridge deck railing to climb down a ladder set in the side of the deck house. A second figure, a woman, presumably Mother, appeared as well.
'Try and find some sober ones, this time,' she snapped.
'Easier said than done, Mom,' her son replied wearily, more to himself than her.
'We're sober and looking for a berth,' KaRaya called up boldly. 'And we're right here.'
They both stopped to look down at us - and then at the two dragons who continued to stare at each other. If I ever had any doubt that they were telepathic, their performance would've erased any I had. You could almost catch their thoughts, or at least the fact that thoughts were being passed back and forth, in their undivided attention and concentration on each other.
'That your dragon?' asked "Mom" leaning over the railing to look down on KaRaya.
'She travels with my friend Wilitang, here,' she replied carefully.
'Your dragon?' she asked, surprised.
'I make no claim of ownership. Just friendship,' I replied, equally carefully, though Hissi was clearly not paying any attention to us. She and the big Simla were just staring at each other like statues. 'Pardon me, but this is the first Simla dragon we've encountered since she hatched. Should we be concerned about how they'll get along?'
'Naw. Ol'King is too old for anything - he's all wheeze and bark, no bite. No, your little dragon is in no danger. They're just getting to know each other. Ain't many of their kind on this island, so meeting one is a rare treat. How'd you cross course with yours?'
'She was a gift as an egg from another Simla dragon with a sense of humor. I think she's supposed to either look after me, or just annoy me.'
'Ain't seen that coloring. What island does she come from?'
'No idea. Her parents traveled aboard Temtre ships.'
'What do you have to do with the Temtres?'
'I was shipwrecked on an island with a couple of Temtre boats on it,' I replied. My standard lie.
'How come you ain't a slave of theirs? Or dead?'
'Oh, we came to an amiable understanding, part of which is, being that I can't say any more about it.'
'And now you're looking for a berth on a broken down shadow-side barge?'
'Aye, we are, Captain,' said KaRaya.
'What brings you to Mountain Vale?'
'We've been traveling the marches, Captain.'
'Pretty far from sailing the wide-sky, ain't you?'
'It's a long story, but briefly... ' KaRaya replied, and gave a quick version of our tale, ending with, 'We're sober, competent, and would like to earn a heavy coin pouch before we start looking for a wide-sky berth.'
'I think you're big liars, but for what I pay, I can't be too fussy. And you've got a dragon with you. We're ready to sail, are you?'
'All we have to do is fetch our gear from the R&M and we're yours to command.'
'I'm hiring deck hands, at two coppers a round to start until I see what you're worth.'
KaRaya glanced at me. Three coppers a round less than being a slaver. I shrugged. It was all the same to me. We weren't likely to find much better in Mountain Vale anytime soon.
'Right, we'll sign on. Two coppers are better than no coppers.'
'You'd be amazed at the number of sailors who can't do that math. So what do you say, King. Should I sign 'em on? The pretty little dragon and all?'
King broke his trance and looking up, gave a wheezing bark. Hissi glanced over to me and gave me her young eager bark as well. She needed to get to know one of her own kind. She needed some Simla dragon lore, though how much ol'King could provide was an open question. He looked to have been living amongst humans for a very long time. Hopefully he hadn't forgotten all the Simla heritage he may've known in his youth. But what do I know of Simlas?
'Right, Snap to it and get your gear. By the way, I'm Captain and owner of the Shadow Bird. DenMons, is my name. DenOrn, here, is my son and chief mate. I've another one, DenBarn getting up steam. They and Cookie, our cook, are the semi-reliable crew of the Shadow Bird. At two coppers a round, deck hands come and go.'