Turn 61

    Before departing, Val makes it a point to check the _Distraction_ stem to stern for any stowaways, live or otherwise. After what Emmett mentioned about what ghouls could do, he does not wish to take any chances.
    It's hard to miss the fact that there have been a few modifications made that he was not previously aware of -- namely, the ballista is now mounted on a heavy turret, giving it a 360-degree field of fire. That can't have been cheap, but none of the Three Trees people mentioned having anything like that done....
    During loading, Emmett lends a hand as well, taking the moment to complement Yestin, "Hey, first officer! Nice suit!" Emmett is likewise armored, wearing his new chain shirt at least until they've left the Rock and he's finished the security sweep.
    It's the usual controlled chaos on the dock and ship both as everyone gets themselves sorted out, particularly with the last-minute addition of Inez, who shows up promptly on time with a duffel of belongings over her shoulder and a grin for Emmett.
    Again, the Half-man stops what he's doing to help out with the carrying - in this case picking up Inez, duffel and all, and carrying her laughing and complaining form up the gangplank and onto the _Distraction_.

* * *

    Meanwhile, in a sphere far, far away.
    "Do you know what I liked best about that job on Tanton?" Shane asks wistfully.
    "The soul-searing boredom?" Fang guesses, glancing at him. They are standing on the _Audacity_'s top deck, looking aft.
    "*Not* running for my life every few months!"
    "They won't catch us." She points forward, away from the pursuing ship. "Look. An asteroid field...."

* * *

    Underway, having awakened from his dream, his one eye snapping open, Emmett quickly checks the sleeping form next to him, making sure that the ominous cessation wasn't triggered by some external event. Seeing that Inez is still safely breathing, the half man slides out of bed as quietly as he can, pulling on breeches and a shirt before heading for the door. He stops, pivots back and grabs his cutlass, chain shirt and scimitar.
    In the hall and outside of Inez' immediate hearing he dons those as well, strapping the shorter blade to his hip and the longer one across his back. If memory serves, Alais should be at the helm, which means Pham should be in the pilot's chamber.
    He knocks softly but insistently on the Brother's door. "Pham, you up?"
    There is a sound of muttering from behind the door, then a rather dishevelled cleric opens it. "Wha... " Pham's sleepy eyes finally open as he focuses on the marine's face. "Emmett? What's the matter? Is my shift up already?"
    "Nope. There's something else. Can I come in?" Emmett slips in through the open door and closes it behind him, and there's no way Pham can miss that the half man is armored and bristling with weapons. "You remember how you had that nasty fire dream on the way out to Janik, and we went through the whole ship looking for a potential problem? Well, I just had a nasty dream, and it's time to go through the whole ship. Given what I'm worried about, I'll need your help."
    "Oh, I see. And to think I was glad not to be dreaming of the inferno again. Still, destruction is destruction. And now you have a disturbing dream as well?
    "Yeah. First it was just the usual 'get hit by a fireball at 1500 feet and plummet to your death' dream, but then it got quietly nasty, with a steady, calming heartbeat slowly giving up, with longer times between each beat before everything stopped."
    "You worship Gond, correct? Tell me... was it the pulsing of a heart, or the ticking of a clockwork winding down?"
    Emmett nods, looking surprised. "Yeah, it could be that. It hadn't occurred to me, but that could be it." He chews his upper lip thoughtfully before continuing, "However, dream analysis isn't what I need from you. Remember at the dedication party, where we got to talking about how ghouls can hide out on ships to jump from sphere to sphere? Well, I woke up and got to worrying about that. I didn't find any stowaways on the regular security sweep, but, well, ghouls ain't your regular stowaways.
    "Maybe I'm being paranoid, but, they could have slipped on board, and I'd rather make sure they aren't rather than just assume. Could you outfit yourself for an undead search and give me a hand?"
    They do so, and with scrupulous care, but there is no sign of undead, or of anything amiss at all aboard the ship. Whatever the dream's meaning, if it has one, that does not seem to be it.

* * *

    Farley McFadden, oligarch for Seven Suns on Bral, universally acknowledged as a hard-working, decent family man with a refreshing streak of roguish humor, and secret smuggler of decidedly unholy items, breaths a sigh of relief as the search party disperses at long last. He'd been warned in time by that fatuous twit Volant's self-important meeting-holding, and while every priest on Bral it seemed had sniffed round his place--and everywhere else--he'd gotten everything that might have sent the righteous busybodies into a flutter well and truly hidden. Most of it was on consignment for his special customers in any case, and they will be on their way in a night or so now that the last of it was stowed. He wonders in passing what they planned to do with all of it.
    He's also made some inquiries about the young man who'd nearly ruined things--Victor had done a good bit of work on the whole lot, it turned out, so he was good for something after all--and snorted in amusement. _Priest of Hextor; surprised he wasn't banging on the door to do some shopping._ He has a number of them on his customer list these days; the sect seems to be doing well. _All this Œend times' nonsense brings in money._
    All in all, he has to pat himself on the back for bringing off a potentially sticky situation in high style. He's tightened things up enough there will be no need for further disappearances. The licit side of the business is going well, the illicit even better, and he'd been shocked to find out first how much money was to be made on Bral's shadow side and second how shoddily it was all being run.
    Really, the only problem now is what to do with Victor. Eventually the spells his clients have laid on him are going to wear off. But then... he does some calculating. By then Victor's little problem might be resolved, which will with any luck satisfy him. A bigger problem is that he is an idiot, of course; that, McFadden is happy to leave him to suffer from.

* * *

    The _Distraction_ is two weeks out from Bral, her crew well settled into the rhythms of shipboard life once more, when the alarm bell rings--Hiro is on watch at the moment, Brother Pham at the helm. On a rapid closing course with the ship is something that looks like nothing less than a forty-foot-long giant squid--a krajen--and the ship is forced to slow for maneuvering.
    

| Top |