"Yes. I feel like a fool, but yes."
"You're not the only one. I feel pretty dumb too. I don't know why I trusted that bastard."
"I just realized I haven't talked to you since before you got kidnapped. How are you doing, Wendy?"
"I'm still here," Wendy said. "I mean, I want to do something and not just sit here waiting. There's got to be something we can do, sir."
"Since we're off duty and have been through a lot together recently, call me Hirohira-san."
"Thank you, Hirohira-san. Call me Wendy or Wendy-san. Whichever you prefer."
They laughed a little.
"Okay, Wendy. I feel the same way. I just don't know very much about these MAMs or the Martian language. I don’t think she recognized me, so I can spy on her some more and maybe try to find out what she is up to. But I don't know this Martian language, if that's what it is."
"Do you think she might be a Martian in disguise?" Wendy said.
Hirohira laughed. "That sounds like one of those weird tales Edgar Allen Poe writes."
"I guess so," Wendy laughed.
"Excuse me," said a nearby lieutenant wearing spectacles. "I couldn't help but hear you two talking about the Martian languages. I actually know some of them. Well, I'm better with the Venusian languages, but I know some Martian as well."
"What? Who are you, sir?" Wendy asked.
"I'm Lieutenant Duncan McKeon, the Kaede's communications officer. As Communications Officer, which is a very new field in the Imperial Union Air Navy, I'm expected to know many human languages. I'm also very familiar with alien technology used for communicating, such as the MAMs and the satellites that orbit the Earth."
"Sit with us, Lieutenant McKeon, and let's talk," Hirohira said. “I’m Lieutenant 2nd class Izuma and this is Ensign Montgomery.”
"Yes, I would delighted," McKeon said, with a friendly and eager smile.
Wendy brought McKeon up on what had been happening.
"Mmmmm," McKeon mumbled as he ate his beans and sipped a mug of watered-down rum. He nodded for a while and took another bite.
Wendy smiled and gave Hiroshima a look of bewilderment.
"I think I may be able to break into her MAM," McKeon finally said. "It might take a while, but I think I can do it, at least in theory."
"What do you mean, Lieutenant McKeon?" Hirohira asked.
"Oh, not literally breaking it or touching it physically. But you see, all MAMs and larger AMs like the ones on Kaede are linked to the satellites in orbit around Earth. I can connect to them, and through them connect to other MAMs or AMs. With the proper programs I can take control and/or steal information."
"Is this legal?" Wendy said. "Are you supposed to know how to do this?"
"Uh-uh. No. I and others figured out how to do it on our own."
"Can the aliens do this?" Hirohira said.
"Don't know. It's possible."
"Well," Wendy said. "Let's get to it!"
CHAPTER THIRTY
The Brig.
Captain Ian Parsons followed Chief Grey to the brig where the prisoners were being kept in chains. Commander Matsuo and Major Cooper saluted and bowed to him as the airmen and marines stood at attention.
"At ease," Captain Parsons said. "Have any trouble with the prisoners, Commander Matsuo?"
"No, sir. Prisoners are awaiting your inspection."
"Good. Major, let's have a look at these prisoners."
"Yes, sir!"
Major Cooper nodded to a marine sergeant who opened the heavy metal door and stood aside. The officers, the chief, and the sergeant entered. Inside were two cells with a prisoner in each one. Both wore chains on their ankles and wrists. They were seated on mats on the floor and didn't stand when the captain entered.
"Captain in the brig! Captain in the brig!" the sergeant shouted. He hit the doors to the cells with his rifle's butt. "Stand up, prisoners! Stand up, prisoners! Or you won't be able to!"
Jeremiah Klein and George Donaldson got to their feet. Captain Parsons looked the two men over. Donaldson had stood up only after Klein did, which confirmed which was leader. Captain Parsons wondered how they would handle these two.
"Do either of you have anything to say about who might have kidnapped Doctor Sakusa from you?" Captain Parsons said right off the bat.
Donaldson looked at Klein. Klein scratched his head and his ankle chains rattled.
"I might have a guess, Captain," Klein said.
"You might?" Captain Parsons said.
"If I tell you what you want to know, Captain," Klein said. "Then you let us go. Otherwise, we won't say anything."
"Really?"
"Yes, sir."
Captain Parsons turned to his first officer.
"Commander Matsuo."
"Yes, Captain?"
"Have the prisoners taken to the rear observation deck to be flogged." Captain Parson winked. "I'll be on the bridge when you're ready."
"Yes, sir!" Commander Matsuo wore a devilish glint in her eyes.
"Wait!" Klein shouted as the captain left.
Captain Parsons returned to the bridge. Flogging was an old tradition in the British Royal Navy that Captain Parsons didn't really care for, especially when it came to his own crew. Commander Matsuo agreed, but they were getting desperate. How far will I actually go to get Doctor Sakusa back? God, what should I do if this doesn't work?
"Captain on the bridge!" shouted the marine private on bridge guard duty as Captain Parsons entered.
Ensign Sugawara saluted and bowed to the captain. "Welcome to the bridge, captain."
"Thank you. How's everything going with your watch, Ensign?"
"Fine, Captain.”
They stood there for several minutes without saying anything. The poor ensign was starting to freak, though he didn't show it. At about that time Izumo, Montgomery, and McKeon approached the bridge.
"Uh, Captain and Ensign," the marine said. "Three officers: Izumo, Montgomery and McKeon would like to speak with you."
"What?" Captain Parsons said.
"We have some information for you, Captain," Lieutenant Izumo said. "It has to do with Doctor Sakusa and the kidnappings."
"Really?" Captain Parsons turned to the officer on watch. "Ensign, someone may come here to inform me that a flogging of the prisoners is about to commence. Send that person to my cabin."
"Yes, sir!"
"Follow me." Captain Parsons led them to his cabin. He nodded to the marine private on guard duty and informed her that someone would come with a message. He sat in a chair by his desk while the three young officers remained standing. "Now, tell me what is so important, Lieutenant Izumo."
Izumo was the most senior of the officers, so he was expected to speak.
"Yesterday, I followed a Mrs. Seraphine Julie Le Trosne. She is the wife of the French ambassador to Canada." Izumo related how he'd followed her the previous night.
Captain Parson leaned back in his chair. "Well, that is interesting, Lieutenant."
"Yes, sir. And I believe--we believe--that we may have a plan to find out more of what Ser...Mrs. Le Trosne is up to."
Hirohira explained about Lieutenant McKeon and the satellites. "He believes he could follow the MAM signal back to its source as well as listen in to their conversations. That is with your permission, Captain."
Captain Parsons rubbed the back of his neck. Good lord! Is this legal? Should I allow it? “If we can do this. Can the Martians do this to us? Have they?"
"Well..." Lieutenant Izumo looked to his left. "Lieutenant McKeon?"
"Captain," McKeon said. "It's very possible they could do that, and so could the Venusians. They have had greater experience with this technology."
"I understand, Lieutenant McKeon. You have my permission to follow up with this. Do you need Kaede's AM?
"Yes, sir," Lieutenant Izumo said.
"I'll speak with Lieutenant Commander Brice. He'll help if you need it, but it's your project."
"Yes, sir!" the three of them s
aid.
"As long as it doesn't interfere with your regular duties.”
They agreed.
"You're dismissed!"
Captain Parsons canceled the flogging and had the prisoners returned to their cells. He returned to the brig and was greeted by Commander Matsuo and Major Cooper with a group of marines and Chief Grey with PO Jeeves standing at attention nearby.
"How are the prisoners?" Captain Parsons whispered. "Are they a little shaken, Commander Matsuo?"
"Aye, sir," she whispered. "We took them up to the observation deck where Chief Grey and PO Jeeves had done a great job making fake bloodstains. I must say they looked real to me. We chained the prisoners to posts, took their shirts off, and tossed sea water on them. We held them there for a couple of hours and returned them to the brig."
Captain Parsons clapped his hands. "Good. Let's get to them."
They re-entered the brig.
"Captain in the brig!" the marine sergeant shouted. "Captain in the brig! Stand up, prisoners! Stand up, prisoners!"
Klein and Donaldson stood up quicker this time. Neither wet man looked as cocky as before.
"Well now, Klein and Donaldson," Captain Parsons said with a glance at Commander Matsuo. "Do you wish to talk, or shall we do it for real this time?"
The two men looked at each other for a second.
"Answer the captain's question!" the marine sergeant shouted.
Both men soon told them everything about Madam Chung and her illegal operations based under the Chinatown noodle shop. The leader and most vicious of her men was a killer named Ku, who was an expert night fighter.
Captain Parsons told Commander Matsuo that after dinner there would be a meeting of his senior officers to decide what to do with these prisoners.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Custer's Hope.
"Mind if we join you, chief?"
Chief Petty Officer Tom Grey swallowed a mouthful of potatoes and nodded to PO 1st class Jeeves and PO 3rd class Nakatomi Kenta. Jeeves took the chair opposite the chief. Nakatomi took another. Nakatomi was shorter than Jeeves, but had the big tight muscles of a fanatic exerciser. Nakatomi stuffed some raw fish in his mouth.
Jeeves leaned towards him. "We just delivered a message to the captain from Colonel Custer."
"Custer?" Grey wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
"Tell the chief, Naka-san," Jeeves said.
Nakatomi laid his chopsticks across his bowl of rice and millet with a bit of fish and eel. He wiped his nose and held up a finger. "Me and Ishihara were drinking over at that pub where the girls can bend their legs back further than you should. You know the place-"
"Who doesn't?" Grey said.
"Well this black man came in. Real dark fellow. He was looking for men from the Kaede and came asking around for us. We was talking about hopping out of there, but the guy approached our table with a mug of ale in his hand.
Nakatomi stopped to slop down some rum.
"He smacked me on the shoulder and shouted in English, 'You guys work for Parsons?' He had a big friendly smile on his square face. 'Captain Parsons, that is.'
'Weda no speaka Anglish,' Ishihara said to him.
'Bullshit!' he said. 'I'm Sergeant Joe Jacob and I serve in Colonel Custer's US Army. We have need of your captain's help and we're willing to pay for it. We also might know something about where he could find a certain missing Californian cattle ranch heiress. You interested?'
'Ishihara, grab our friend Jacob here a chair,' I said. What else could I have done? I needed to shut the loud mouth up, without killing him in front of witnesses. 'So you need help and we need help. Is that it? How did you find out who we are in the first place?'
'Your ship's doctor came looking for us. He said your captain would be interested in information about the heiress's whereabouts and it might make him grateful enough to bring some of us along.'
'Really?' I laughed and looked over at Ishihara. 'Things just keep getting more interesting all the time.'
'I have a sealed letter from the colonel for your captain.' Jacob tossed it on the table and I grabbed it to hide in a pocket." Nakatomi stopped talking to drink some more from his mug.
"Stop with the gluggin' and finish your tale telling," Chief Grey snapped.
"Yes, Chief, yes." Nakatomi waved his hand. "Let's see, I took the letter from the table and stuffed it in a pocket. I then said, 'I don't have the authority to agree or disagree, Jacob,' I looked around the room. 'That is if I really was such a man of this Parsons fellow.'
'Can ya find a man that does have the authority?'
'I think I can do that,' I replied. 'Maybe one or two. Here to talk to your folks with authority. You know how they are with senior enlisted men like us getting too uppity.'
'Yessum. Yessum,' he replied with a lot of head nodding. 'I'll bring an officer or two here to talk to yours.'
We agreed with a time the next night and we left. I met Jeeves on my way to deliver the message to the captain. I handed the letter off all respectable and the like. The captain said he wanted to talk with Ishitomi, me and you chief in his cabin at 2100 hours."
"Right." Chief Grey nodded. "Hope by Davie Jones's balls this works out. What's the time?"
#
"It seems that Colonel Custer would like us to drop off a few of his soldiers to reinforce his army of old men and runaway slaves in Michigan," Captain Parsons said.
"I'm not surprised he heard of us and the Kaede," Commander Matsuo said.
"The colonel seems to think Doctor Sakusa might be in Michigan."
"Why would that be?"
"He doesn't say, Sumiko." Captain Parsons looked at Doctor Miller. "He does say you have been asking around for the colonel. I assume you succeeded. Doctor?"
"Yes." Doctor Miller put his hands together like in a prayer. "I was planning to bring that up after dinner, Captain. I thought it would be a good idea since the Confederates are after us. 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend.' The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Isn't that correct, Commander Matsuo?"
"True." Commander Matsuo leaned forward in her chair and sipped her tea.
"Next time, Doctor," Captain Parsons said, "please speak to me first."
"Aye, aye, sir." Doctor Miller took a bite of his cake.
Later, once everyone finished with their desserts the captain started the meeting.
"The atomic reactor and the engines are in tip-top condition, Captain," Lieutenant Commander Flagg, the chief engineer said. "We're ready to go as high and as fast as you wish."
"Good. Thank you. With that problem behind us, we can focus on finding Doctor Sakusa."
"I suggest we visit that Chinatown noodle shop," Major Cooper said. "My marines will get in there as fast as possible and cut down any fool who tries to stop us. Then we'll bring Madam Chung to the Kaede's brig to have a talk."
"I don't care how fast you are, Major Cooper," Commander Matsuo said. "You'll still be seen coming from a long way away. These people routinely get raided by the local police force. They'll have people watching the airport."
"Could we bribe Madam Chung for information?" Lieutenant Commander Flagg asked.
"I don't know if that would work. She would happily take our money but if this is a regular client then she would be protective of them for future opportunities of wealth."
"Would getting hold of this Madam Chung be of any help to us?" Flagg said. "Even if she would talk, what could she say that could help?"
"What?" Major Cooper said.
"Everything that we know points to this Madam Chung. She most likely had Doctor Sakusa and…sold her," Lieutenant Commander Flagg said. "Sure, we're not hundred percent sure, but who can ever be that sure?"
"True." Commander Matsuo turned to the captain. "May we hear what the colonel said, sir?"
Captain Parsons handed the letter to his first officer, who read the letter once over and then read it out loud. Everyone was still for a time.
"Why would the Imperial Union be interested in the remai
ns of a dead country's army?" Major Cooper asked.
"We all know the Confederate States of America would like to expand to the west," Doctor Miller said. "Bloody hell, they would like to have our California territories too if they could, but mostly they argue over the location of the borderline between it and their Texas territories."
Everyone around the room nodded at the doctor's comment before he continued.
"We also know of the Martian threat and how they are very supportive of the Confederacy and its slave society. Also that the Martians slave society feels threatened by human nations that try to outlaw slavery. I've even heard that certain people who openly oppose slavery in France and Spain disappear mysteriously."
"Disappear?" Lieutenant Commander Flagg said. "Wouldn't people object to that? Especially in France. How could they get away with that?"
"France is a changed place," Doctor Miller said. "They no longer have the stomach for another bloody revolution."
"I take it, Doctor," Commander Matsuo said, "that you are in full support of us taking extra military actions against the Confederacy? We are not at war with them. I don't think we have permission from above to do that sort of thing."
"Are you sure? I've heard differently."
"What?"
Soon others started a round of talking and shouting at the same time over whether that would be a good idea or not. Captain Parsons beat his cup with a spoon and everyone shut up and looked at him.
"Now, I don't want us to be the cause of a war between the Imperial Union and the Confederacy that might pull the Martians into it. I'm not sure if we are ready for such a battle, but I do think there will be a war." The captain paused as he looked around the room at his officers so his words could sink in to each one. "We don't want it. You would have to be crazy to want it, but those Martians are just waiting to gain local allies on Earth for what I believe could be an all-out invasion and takeover of Earth!"
Everyone was silent though some looked at each other or just looked down.
"If Colonel Custer's army could weaken the Confederacy then so much the better for us in that future war!"
The Mighty Airship Kaede. (The Mighty Airships of Earth. Book 1) Page 13
