Skykeep

by Joseph R. Lallo

  “Anything else?”

  “They also eat. And you shouldn’t look up at one with your mouth open because—” Donald began.

  “I don’t think the ladies need to be told that bit,” Kent said.

  “Well, what else would they do?” Donald said.

  “Nothing I suppose,” Nita said. “It just seems odd that they should be trained to do a job that a person could easily do.”

  “Huh. You teach a person how to find what’s broke, next thing they’ll figure out how to fix it, and we can’t have that, can we?” Donald said.

  Nita nodded, then turned. “Lil, can you come with me for a moment?”

  “Sure,” she said.

  The pair paced off. Nita gestured up at the clouds and swept her hands as though she was in a vigorous discussion about some far-off destination. Her words in no way matched the motions.

  “They don’t know about the inspectors being used as spies,” Nita said.

  Lil, a bit more theatrically, began to play as though she was engaged in the same conversation. “No offense to them, but it seems like there’s a lot those two don’t know.”

  “Granted, they aren’t the mastermind types that we’ve dealt with before, but they’re citizens, and they don’t know. That means at the very least that not everyone knows. And from what we’ve seen, its fair to say there is an awful lot of compartmentalization of information with the fug folk. Let’s imagine that only a handful of people know. If Blanche got locked up for ‘writing something down’ about the inspectors, then I’ve got to believe she’s one of the people who knows, and they didn’t want her writing any of it down, because they didn’t want anyone else to know.”

  “So? We already know it.”

  “We know that they are spies, and we know the language they use, but that’s only half of it… Think of it this way. When I had to work out how to fix and rebuild the boiler of the Wind Breaker, I knew what the mechanism did. It boiled water to spin the turbines. But it took me a while to figure out how to maintain it because between boiling water and spinning turbines it pushed the steam through any number of valves and splits, and if I pulled the wrong handle at the wrong time, the steam wouldn’t go the way it needed to. There’s got to be more to it than just tapping out a code on the main support of the envelope.”

  “And you think Blanche might know that stuff?”

  “I do.”

  “And we want to know that why? Just for reference?”

  Nita turned and continued her skyward gestures, this time with relevance to the conversation. There was a cloud in front of the sun, making the view of the pole above the tower much less painful.

  “You see the top of the tower there?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Look closely.”

  Lil squinted. “Is that… wait… there’s an aye-aye up there. That’s what I heard scampering and tapping and such. Thank the Lord! I thought my mind was going!”

  “You don’t think there would be just one inspector, and way up there, if it was actually for inspecting the place. And I doubt they are spying on themselves.”

  “So it’s for… what?”

  “I’m hoping Blanche would know.”

  “Well, good luck getting it out of her. She’s a little more fuggy than the two grunts over there. And… hang on… you got a problem, you two?”

  Nita turned to find that two of the other inmates had been sidling closer, and Lil had finally decided they were getting too close for comfort in light of the current conversation. They were dressed in the same outfit as the rest of the prisoners, but pinned to the front of each of their shirts was a black rose. Something about the pair made Nita’s skin crawl, and she quickly realized what it was. They were the Ebonwhite brothers, and they were the spitting image of their uncle, the man whose refusal to help treat Nita’s mother had resulted in her place among the crew.

  “What were you discussing?” asked the first of the brothers. He was a hair taller than the other, and the grunts had identified him as Lars. “Because you seemed to be speaking awfully quietly for a simple conversation.”

  “We were discussing how those clouds look a lot like your faces,” Lil said.

  “Those clouds don’t look anything like our faces,” said the second brother, Nils.

  “They will after I’m done pounding you for not minding your own business,” Lil growled.

  Lars glanced aside briefly, then took a step forward, an infuriating smirk of superiority on his face. “I don’t believe you have the intestinal fortitude to act upon such a threat. You are a weak, posturing little imbecile.”

  “Oh, you wanna bet? You lousy purple-breathing—” Lil snapped, stalking forward with fire in her eyes.

  “Lil, no,” Nita said, hauling her back.

  “You heard what he said!” Lil growled.

  “Lil, there’s a guard right there, and three snipers have got you in their sights. Ebonwhite is trying to coax you into another trip to isolation at best, if not getting you gunned down.”

  Her angry crewmate glanced aside to find one of the guards approaching.

  “Oooh,” Lil said. “So you’re that scared of me, you want the guard to do your dirty work. I knew I was intimidating. I didn’t know I was that intimidating.” She flashed a cocky smile. “Good to know.”

  “Is there a problem here?” barked the guard as he reached them.

  “I am quite certain these two surface dwellers were attempting to plot something,” Lars said. “I suggest you keep them under tighter surveillance.”

  “Yes.” Nils nodded. “They were talking about having a gun hidden in their quarters. You should search it!”

  “Oh, so you’re a couple of snitches, too? And not even good ones. That isn’t close to what we were talking about,” Lil said. She turned to the guard. “Search away. And when you’re done not finding anything, remember who it was who told you to waste your time.”

  “If the four of you are going to be trouble together, separate now or we’ll have to separate you ourselves.”

  “Gladly,” remarked Lars. “I would not dream of consorting with such a boorish ruffian for any longer than I deemed necessary to aid you fine jailers in administering proper justice.”

  “A brownnose shows up extra good on a pale face like that,” Lil jabbed.

  “Just disperse or I’ll inform Assistant Warden Blanc that you’ve all been making trouble,” the guard threatened, pointing at the man in question.

  The appearance of the assistant warden was enough to convince the Ebonwhites to withdraw. After lingering long enough to be sure they had moved to a reasonable distance, the guard gave Nita and Lil a firm look and returned to the shelter of the shade.

  Lil eyed Asst. Warden Blanc, the wheels in her head visibly turning.

  “I’ve got an idea. Stick close but not too close, be ready to catch something, and I might not be home for dinner tonight.”

  “What are you, wait!” Nita said, but it was clear Lil had ceased taking input on the issue.

  Lil marched toward Blanc. “Hey! Can I talk to you for a second?”

  “Back off,” he growled.

  “I just have a question,” Lil said. She subtly waved her hand behind her, gesturing Nita into position.

  “I don’t care what you have! Back away,” he repeated, threat in his voice.

  Nita glanced to the towers. Every sharpshooter in position was taking aim, and two guards were approaching her. Lil either didn’t know or didn’t care. When she was near enough to touch him, he drew and raised his baton, placing the other hand on the grip of his pistol. She took the opportunity to reach forward and hook a small brass chain dangling from Blanc’s pocket. With a quick jerk of the chain, she caused his watch to flip out into the air. As it was twirling above her, she pivoted on one foot, twisting out of the way of his swinging baton and facing Nita. In a masterpiece of sleight of hand, she retrieved the stale bread from her waistband, caught the watch, and dropped the bread in its place. She
flipped the watch in Nita’s direction at the same time that she reared back and kicked the bread. From just about any angle but Nita’s, it would have taken a sharp eye to realize that it wasn’t the watch that had been sent hurtling off the edge of the courtyard and into the fug below. And it was unlikely anyone had spared a glance to notice the switch, or to see Nita catch and hide the pocket watch, because they were too distracted by what was about to occur.

  Blanc swung the baton a second time, and this time it connected. Though the blow undeniably had some force behind it, Lil clearly put a bit more into her performance than the attack deserved, practically leaping to the side and throwing herself to the ground. The two guards converged on her and yanked her from the ground, forcing her arms behind her back.

  “That’s it! Isolation! Take her away!” Blanc ordered.

  Lil put up a cursory struggle but couldn’t quite keep the smile from her face as she was dragged backward through the parting crowd.

  “That woman is insane. I’ve said it a dozen times,” muttered Blanc. “What possible reason could she have for destroying a perfectly good watch?”

  Donald and Kent paced over, watching as Lil was brought through the gates to the isolation cell and loaded inside.

  “What was that for? What did you talk about that made her do that?” Kent asked.

  “Honestly,” Nita said, her heart still drumming in her chest from how quickly that had happened. “I… just don’t know what gets into her sometimes. She’s fearless, which isn’t always a good thing.” She carefully tightened the cord supporting her trousers to ensure the watch in her waistband didn’t slip. “Though it has paid off in the past.”

  “Listen!” called out Blanc. “Because Inmate Cooper chose to destroy the watch that I use to keep track of your mandatory yard time, I suppose you’ll just have to stay out here until a new shift supervisor takes my place. And that won’t be for another three hours. You have Cooper to thank.”

  There was a murmur of anger at the further consequences of the stunt, but Donald and Kent seemed to remain in high spirits.

  “You aren’t angry about that?” Nita said.

  “If we have to stay up here that long, it means so do the guards. If they’re miserable, I’m happy,” Kent said.

  “Likewise,” Donald agreed.

  The three of them chatted for a while longer, but in time Donald’s mind wandered and he paced over to talk to some of the other inmates. Kent followed, leaving Nita alone once again. Part of her wanted to keep a low profile in order to make certain, or at least do her best to make certain, that she didn’t attract any attention and thus the watch was not discovered. But after seeing what Lil was willing to do in order to get them one step closer to escape, she felt she would be remiss if she didn’t put forth a similar effort.

  She scanned the courtyard and swiftly spotted Blanche. As one of the only females, Nita had expected her to be perpetually surrounded by suitors, and in a prison that wasn’t a pleasant thought. Instead, she was almost always alone, or at best on the outskirts of one of the other groups. Perhaps her surly attitude wasn’t reserved for surface dwellers like Nita… Then again, Nita and Lil had been left alone thus far as well. It was only the second day, and their imposing reputations could have had quite a bit to do with that, but it was still curious. Perhaps fug folks tended not to have tastes outside their own kind. Or perhaps they simply didn’t place as high a focus on romance and its less genteel counterparts. It would certainly explain why, if the grunts’ estimate was correct, there were fewer fug folk overall than there were people in Keystone alone.

  Nita set the puzzle aside and returned to the task at hand. She needed to know if Blanche knew about the aye-ayes, and if the rest of the staff and prison population didn’t. There was a fairly direct way to go about it, but it was a tremendous gamble. The fact that the fug folk still clearly assumed no one on the surface knew about the true role of the inspectors was key to not only the Wind Breaker’s continued success, but its continued survival. If she showed those cards now, the consequences would be dire… but if she didn’t get out of here soon, the next even minor clash the Wind Breaker had could damage her beyond functionality, and the crew’s journey would end, probably messily. She had to take the chance.

  She paced over to the base of one of the towers, the one nearest to Blanche, and pulled the tap code to mind.

  The fug folk thought we didn’t know about this. The fug folk were fools to think that, she tapped on the support.

  Blanche’s head snapped in Nita’s direction and their eyes met. She had a look of barely contained shock and confusion on her face. No one else in the cluster of people near her turned, and a quick glance around revealed that not a single other member of the staff, and none of the prisoners, seemed to assign any sort of meaning to the rattles and taps. Nita stepped toward her.

  “I think you and I have something to discuss,” Nita said, her voice low enough to not be heard by any of the others.

  Blanche nodded and paced after Nita as they moved to an unoccupied bit of shade a short distance away. Nita intended to start the conversation, but the first question was Blanche’s.

  “How long have you known?” she asked.

  “I worked it out shortly after I joined the crew. It took a few months to figure out the tap code well enough to communicate.”

  “It was bound to happen eventually. Even with all the secrecy. It’s… we’ve always done all we could to encourage the simple assumption that the aye-ayes aren’t any more intelligent than any other trained animal, and they were such a constant on airships people seldom had any cause to even notice their presence. They were tools, furniture…”

  “I can’t help but notice you’re the only one who turned your head,” Nita said.

  “Do you think it would have remained a secret for long if it was general knowledge? Most of our people are as ignorant of the deeper value of the aye-ayes as your people. I’m sure there are theories and suspicions among the others, but only communications supervisors, trainers, and regional overseers know the whole truth. Less than three people in every city, generally. Maybe two dozen people overall. I’d wager the only other person in the Phylactery who knows is one of the messengers up in the central tower. Though I assume that’s changing by the day, now that you’ve figured it out.”

  “No. We’re keeping the secret.”

  “… Why? Without the inspectors—”

  “I know, but the captain has his reasons, and I’m not sure I entirely disagree with them.”

  “Then why reveal it to me?”

  “Because it never hurts to know a little more about something.”

  Blanche gave Nita a measuring gaze. “I didn’t think the surface dwellers were terribly interested in education.”

  “And I didn’t think that there were any fug folk with empathy and respect for anyone but themselves, so it seems we’re both learning things today.”

  “What makes you think I would willingly help you? I have no interest in helping you destroy my people.”

  “As you began to point out, if we wanted to destroy your people, we already know everything we need to do it. Right now all I want to do is get out of here.”

  “And you think a few details about aye-ayes will do the job?”

  “I don’t know, but I know it will do me more good than not knowing. Tell me again how many years have you been locked up?”

  “Seven.”

  “Do you imagine they’ll ever let you out?”

  “I don’t imagine they’ll ever let anyone out.”

  “Then what have you got to gain by keeping their secrets? And what have you got to lose by sharing them?”

  “… If I tell you what you need to know, even if it doesn’t make one ounce of difference in your escape plans, I want you to take me with you.”

  “I don’t know that I’ll be able to convince the captain.”

  “Then I don’t know that I’ll be able to tell you anything.”


  Nita eyed her would-be informant, who looked back with defiance and the gleam in her eye that betrayed a fondness for being in a position of power over someone else. It seemed she wasn’t entirely devoid of the negative qualities so often associated with the fug folk.

  “Fine. But that means no limits. It is in your best interest to offer any help you can, or else none of us are getting out.”

  “Agreed. So, where would you have me begin?”

  “Let us begin with what exactly your involvement is with the inspectors, and why you got locked up.”

  “I am a trainer… was a trainer. I was responsible for selecting the most intelligent of the infant aye-ayes and teaching them the language and the communication protocols. I was locked up because they were introducing a new shorthand to help speed up and condense communication, and I just couldn’t remember it. I wrote down a few of the key phrases to help me memorize them, but the standing order was that we were under no circumstances permitted to record them in any way. I’d… not been overly cooperative with some of my supervisor’s policies in the past, so he parlayed my minor offense into some absurd plot about me creating a handbook of terms that I was intending to sell to the highest bidder.” She shook her head and muttered something not quite audible that sounded rather rude, then curled her lips into a wry smile. “The worst slap to the face was that they didn’t even end up using the shorthand. The inspectors just didn’t take to it.”

  “Why not?”

  “They are smarter than most realize but they aren’t at my level, or even yours, by any stretch of the imagination. They can form sentences, they can have a truly remarkable memory at times, and they can mechanically follow orders, but only the very brightest can think abstractly. They don’t have imaginations. They don’t lie because they can’t conceive of something other than the truth. The shorthand required them to group their reports by topic, and all but a handful of my best specimens couldn’t do more than regurgitate their total report in the order that it was observed.”

  Nita nodded, ignoring the casual jab at her intelligence. “And the communication people just listen to the taps echoing from each ship as they come in?”