~
“Captain, ships astern,” Shawn yelled into his com, his voice panicky. He counted. “Sir, there’s six of them! And – the Silver Bullet.”
“Donegal! Are you still in the Crow’s Nest?” Lascek shouted back, shocked.
“Yes, sir! I never got an order to get down!”
Lascek stared at Marsden. The waves were huge now, and the visibility near to nothing. He’d ordered all the flyers below deck a while back. But his lookout… To keep track of this crazy crew…
Captain Rodriguez stared at Lascek.
“Is your radar out of order?” he asked.
“We have had a little trouble with it,” said Lascek through his teeth. He punched at the ship com. “Shawn, stay up there and watch for more rocks. Ronan Donegal, get up there with your brother! Tie extra lifelines! Both of you! Put on a life vest again! Blast, in this gale! Dr Jake, get the drives ready. Marsden, take the helm. Schatz, get the crew armed. Hang it, where’s that Tzigan when you need him?”
Rodriguez’ eyes flew open. Lascek grinned mirthlessly at him. He watched as it hit the Cuban that they had been navigated through all sorts of reefs by visuals only.
“Lascek, old animal,” said Rodriguez, shaking the Captain’s hand. “You can count me and my men as allies! Rebellion is always the enemy to Cuba.”
Lascek shook the Cuban’s hand, wondering how long this pact would last and at which inopportune moment it would be broken. It was great to have Rodriguez’ declaration; but that didn’t mean that he’d give the Spanish men any firepower! Their own weapons had been carefully disabled by Federi last night when he had checked all the lifelines.
He didn’t feel easy about leaving both Donegal brothers outside in the Crow’s Nest. But submerging was not an option without the radar. In fact, navigation was impossible without a radar, unless he had a lookout. Ailyss had known what she was doing. He only hoped that the weather would lighten soon.
The Solar Wind’s internal intercom sounded.
“Captain, it’s Sherman. Don’t shoot at the foremost Rebel Schooner, that’s us.”
A yell of delight sounded from the Crow’s Nest. Rodriguez found himself and his men cheering too.
“Are you free, Sherman, or are you hostages?” asked Lascek.
“Free, Captain! Our Federi came along on his white charger. Just in time! Was getting terribly bored!”
The Captain laughed. Our Federi! Our Federi deserved a medal! The genius!
“Sherman, I read you! We’ll open fire on the others. Give me a signal to show me which ship you’re on.”
Sherman flashed the mast light twice.
The Solar Wind launched a torpedo at each of the two ships flanking Sherman’s. Then she had to flee.
Sherman opened the Schooner’s engines at full throttle and set off after the Solar Wind. The enemy Schooners opened the chase.
Paean was hanging onto the Schooner’s helm for dear life. She had never actually done the steering of a ship yet and found that it wasn’t all that easy in such rough seas. Federi was somewhere below deck; she assumed he was still “cleaning up”.
Poor Federi! What a totally dirty job description! Hero craft, Wolf had called it. Well, Wolf had no idea! She had seen the fixated blood on the compounding deck just outside their cabin door. And the drag tracks. Oh hey, if that didn’t get to him! And the worried, hooded glances he cast her, as though she ought to be spitting on him now!
A small boy emerged on the bridge. He couldn’t be older than ten or eleven. Paean glanced at him. He looked frightened. Dark shadows ringed his eyes. His face was gaunt.
“The scary man with the knife said I must go to the bridge and look for the red-haired lady,” he said. “He says you’re friends with my sister.”
“Who is your sister?” asked Paean, keeping a sharp lookout for rocks. She’d have very sore arms after this one, she knew. The helm was a smallish wheel that swivelled in three dimensions, relaying her movements electronically; but the tension cramps in her arms and hands were analogue. But she’d rather die than let on to Sherman Dougherty! Hero craft.
“Her name’s Ailyss Quinlan. I’m Keenan.”
“Ailyss!” exclaimed Sherman, shocked. “You’re Ailyss’ little brother?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Come, sit here,” said Sherman, pointing to the console chair next to him. “Ailyss is aboard the Solar Wind. She’ll be very happy to see you!” He engaged the intercom. “Solar Wind, come in. This is Sherman. Captain, we have Ailyss’ little brother with us. He is unharmed.”
The Captain stared at Marsden. “Ailyss has a brother!”
“I’ll call her,” said Marsden.
“Nem, Marsden. I’ll get her myself. Want to see her face.”
Marsden took the bridge as the Captain walked off at a rate, down below the deck, and into the infirmary.
“Ailyss, your brother wants to speak to you. Get to the bridge.”
All colour drained out of Ailyss’ face.
“Yes, Captain!” She stood up without a further word and rushed out of the infirmary. Wolf’s despondent gaze followed her. He had been right! Radomir Lascek followed Ailyss. He didn’t want to miss the exchange between the Quinlan sibs!
“There you go,” Sherman said to Keenan, handing over his wrist-com. “Talk to your sister, Keenan.”
The wrist-coms and the internal communication system of the Solar Wind, unlike her official ship-to-ship com, didn’t function on radio waves. They were extremely limited-range devices, so that the rest of the world couldn’t accidentally pick up the conversations of the Solar Wind and locate her by it. It was luck that she was in range.
“Hi, Ailyss,” said Keenan.
“Keenan! Are you alright? Did they hurt you?”
“No. Only, they didn’t give me any food and told me they’ll kill you when you come aboard.”
Ailyss looked at the Captain in shock. He glared at her.
“Ailyss?” the pleading voice of the little boy came out of the com, verging on tears. “They can’t, can they? You won’t let them kill you, right? Please?”
A foreign voice crackled over the Solar Wind’s ship-to-ship radio intercom in Spanish.
“This is Commander Peras from the Rebellion. Radomir Lascek, give yourself up. You are outnumbered.”
Lascek didn’t bother replying. He locked two more torpedoes onto the enemy ships. The devices never got released, though. Something stuck.
“This is your doing too?” he asked Ailyss. She shook her head, terrified.
“We’ll have to use what is around us,” said Lascek. “Can’t get close enough to fire with the drives. By then they’ll have sunk us.” He punched another sequence into the console. The sails unfurled again.
Jon Marsden looked up in surprise, realizing what his Captain intended.
“Captain – that would-be hurricane out there -?”
“Men back to positions,” shouted Lascek. “We’ll fly her again!” He grinned at Marsden. “It’s only a would-be. Its bluff is up.”
The First Mate frowned, but said nothing. Those waves out there were still enormous. The wind was vicious. It was a risk having the two Donegal brothers up in the Crow’s Nest, no matter how many lifelines they tied on. But to chase the whole crew back outside…
Rodriguez organized his four sailors back into the posts they had occupied the first time the ship had flown. Marsden understood. Complete command, was what Captain was after. He was testing the Cubans, and his own crew after that show of defiance from Federi. And it was after all not quite a hurricane.
“We won’t come out where we meant to come out,” commented Lascek quietly to his First Mate. “Wind is pushing south here. Can’t tack in a storm. But it’s worth it, I think?” He motioned to those Rebellion ships out there. “We’re in the rocks, Jon. They break a lot of the force of the wind.
Waves not as high as they’d like to be. It will be fine.”
Marsden nodded and resumed his place behind the console. Captain didn’t have any choice, if he thought about it carefully. His alternatives had been sabotaged. Rushka and Rhine Gold went back to their posts too. Ailyss moved to join them.
“You stay on the bridge!” Lascek snapped at her. He placed a heavy hand on her shoulder, fixing her with a penetrating stare. “Your game’s up, Ailyss Quinlan! I want you to see what Radomir Lascek does when his technician betrays him and delivers him into the hands of an enemy fleet!”
Ailyss looked down. She couldn’t hold that steely stare. She had lost, she knew this. She also knew suddenly that he was right and she was wrong. That hand on her shoulder steadied her milling thoughts just as his solid grip had steadied the Solar Wind. They quietened down. All was becoming clear. The entire damned Unicate was wrong! The Rebellion, even worse! Radomir Lascek was the only honourable soul out there.
“Sorry, Captain,” she muttered. “I’m so sorry!” If she’d only trusted her own instincts and abandoned her mission earlier! But her brother… “I know, I’m dead – but you won’t harm Keenan, will you, Captain?”
“We don’t harm innocents, damn you, girl,” exploded Lascek. He turned away, back to Marsden, and pointed at the sea ahead. “We’re a day and a half outside Prime, would you say?”
“Yes, Captain.”
“I know this area,” said Lascek loudly, activating the ship com so the Cubans could hear. “What’s the name of this volcanic system of reefs and shoals that popped up here in the nineties? The one that was an island atoll for about a week?”
“Canebo, I think,” said Marsden. He smiled. “Oh, Radomir!”
“Incorrigible, you say?” grinned Lascek. He activated the com. “Any reefs yet, Donegals?” As though reefs were not what they had been navigating past for the last three hours!