Scout's Law

by Henry Vogel

  Mrs. Sune returned to sniffing, ending her record run. “It is still quite inappropriate behavior for a girl.”

  Dad ignored the comment. Motioning to one of the crew to get the Sunes’ baggage, he said, “I’ll show you to your cabin.”

  That was just our first dealing with the lovely Mrs. Sune. Nothing about the the voyage pleased her.

  The food was too hot.

  The food was too cold.

  The food was too spicy.

  The food was too bland.

  The tea was too weak.

  The tea was too strong.

  Her cabin was too small.

  The ship flew too high.

  Sasha was too energetic for a proper young girl.

  Will was too mischievous for a proper young boy.

  I was too…oh, take your pick, since absolutely nothing I did met her standards.

  She even complained that she had difficulty walking when the wind was blowing. Geez, was Dad supposed to control the weather for her?

  Through it all, Mom and Dad just listened politely and didn’t grit their teeth or mutter under their breath until they were as far away from the woman as possible. Worse, the rest of us had to do the same thing. At least, I understood the politics of the situation and knew how much trouble the Sunes could cause for Dad if they chose to. Poor Will and Sasha just knew they had to be nice to the Sunes, even if the Sunes weren’t nice to them in return.

  Thank God I got to go aloft every now and then to take lookout duty. I’ve always loved being on top of the envelope with just the wind and world to keep me company. With the Sunes down below, I would have bunked up there if Dad would have let me. Dad did agree that I should stay out of Mrs. Sune’s sight as much as possible, so I got a lot of lookout duty. That meant I was the one who spotted the wreck.

  “Downed airship four points to port! Twenty miles distance,” I called through the speaking tube. “Look for the wisps of smoke rising from near it.”

  “We spy the smoke,” Dad replied. “Can you identify the ship? Is it one of the missing merchant airships?”

  She was keel-up on the desert floor and badly broken up. I studied the ship, mentally reconstructing her in the hope I could identify her. She was far too big for one of the merchant ships, that was certain. And then all of the pieces just sort of fell into place.

  “She’s not a merchant ship at all,” I said. “She’s…She looks like a Mordanian ship-of-the-line, Dad.”

  Dad was silent for a long time, then said, “I’m sending replacements up there. Then I want you to come down here, Jade.”

  “What? Come on, Dad, I can-”

  “That’s an order, Jade.”

  I sighed. There was only one possible response when Dad said that. “Aye aye, sir.”

  When I reached the deck, at least he let me watch as we drew nearer the wreck. Eight miles out, the new lookout called, “I found the source of the smoke, sir. It’s…Uh, it’s a big pile of burning bodies.”

  Dad look truly confused at the pronouncement and muttered, “What the hell does that mean?”

  For once, I actually knew the answer. “I think I know, Dad.”

  He raised an eyebrow, his way of asking for an explanation.

  “Trogs burn the bodies of their dead and those of honored foes.” Dad’s second eyebrow rose to join the first, so I added, “It says that in David Rice and the City of the Trogs. But it’s also in some of the other books about his adventures.”

  Dad smiled. “It appears your insatiable appetite for all things David Rice has finally paid off in real life. Now, I want you to take your brother and sister below deck and stay there until I call for you.”

  “Dad, can’t someone else watch Will and Sasha? I want to be up here if we run into trogs.”

  “And I want you below deck and safe for the very same reason.” He gave me a hard look. “Do I have to make it an order?”

  I hung my head. “No, sir.”

  That’s how I missed my first chance to see real, live trogs.

  CHAPTER NINE

  David

  I caught Callan’s hand and pulled her toward the scree. “We’ve got to get out of this deathtrap before the airship attracts the trogs!”

  Sticking to the side of the scree, I used one hand to pull myself up, grabbing handholds on the rocks lining the edge of the slope. I used the other hand to pull Callan up behind me. We made surprisingly good time, all things considered, and this method allowed me to concentrate on climbing while Callan served as a lookout.

  “Can you see the airship yet?” I asked between pants and gasps as I strained to get up the slope as fast as possible.

  “Not yet. I think it’s on the other side of this mountain.” Callan was breathing nearly as hard as I was even though I was climbing for both of us. We had both been far too active with far too little rest. “Let’s hope it stays there, too. If it swings around to our side of the mountain, it’s bound to draw the trogs along with it.”

  Surely the crew would spot at least one of our wrecked airships and swoop down for a look. That, alone, ought to keep them busy for longer than it would take Callan and me to climb this slope. Unless, my mind handily reminded me, they’d already investigated the wreck and were searching for survivors.

  We passed the halfway point in our climb and I found myself wondering how the trogs would react to the airship. With blaster rifles, they could very well blast the ship out of the sky if it came within reasonable shooting range. Would the trogs fire on the ship or just hide and wait for it to sail away? Then I remembered the wind storm from the night before. Whoever was in charge of this place was pretty keen on keeping it a secret for as long as possible.

  “The airship is slowing, David, and I think it will come around the mountain very soon.”

  “Almost to the top, dear.”

  “You’d better hurry, darling. The airship just flew into view.” Callan was silent for a couple of seconds then spoke again. “And now the trogs are on the move. I can hear them walking on the loose stones.”

  “Can you get the attention of someone on the airship? A rain of crossbow bolts on the trogs will come in very handy if the trogs spot us.”

  I felt Callan stand up and her left arm began shaking a bit. I didn’t have to look to know she was waving her right arm frantically, hoping someone on the airship spotted her.

  “I just saw light reflect off of glass! Someone must be checking us out with binoculars.” Callan waved even more frantically. “Yes! Someone waved back at me!”

  “Good. Try pointing in the direction of the trogs. Even if they don’t spot them, the captain should understand that there’s danger nearby.”

  I hauled myself up to the top of the scree, pulling Callan up beside me. The sound of trogs walking through stone was much too loud for my tastes. I headed away from the approaching trogs, pulling Callan along with me. With a steep, bare slope rising above our little path and a rocky wasteland falling away below it, I didn’t hold much hope of finding a hiding place.

  “David, someone on the airship is pointing at the top of the mountain and motioning up. I think they want us to climb to the top so they can pick us up!”

  Praying the trogs never chose to look our way, I left the path and led Callan up the wide open slope. I could feel her flagging as hunger and thirst and exhaustion took their toll. There was no way she could make the two hundred yard climb to the mountain top.

  I took a look over my shoulder and saw the first trogs march into view. In the distance, the airship swung around for a pass over the mountain top. I thought I saw crossbowmen lining the rails before the airship turned bow forward to me. The ship’s engines roared as the captain put on more speed. At the same time, a trog fired a very poorly aimed blaster shot. It missed the airship by a wide margin, but it served notice that the trogs weren’t planning to let the airship get away.

  Worst of all, I realized Callan and I had no chance of reaching the summit before the airship got there. There was on
ly one thing to do. I turned and swept Callan into my arms. “Hang on, dear!”

  Boost!

  Adrenaline surged through my veins and time slowed. Callan wrapped her arms around my neck in slow motion as her expression gradually shifted from exhaustion to concern for me. I charged up the mountainside, my legs churning faster than any normal man’s could. Then again, we Scouts aren’t normal men—science and technology have seen to that.

  I took another glance over my shoulder at the approaching airship. More blaster bolts blazed into the sky, but it looked like the trogs hadn’t worked out the idea of aiming ahead of a moving target. Most of the bolts passed through the airship’s wake and the rest missed to port or starboard. A volley of crossbow bolts launched from the airship, arching down toward the trogs. I couldn’t see if any hit, but the trog shooting stopped and trog voices rose in alarm.

  Then the bow of the airship passed over us. Men peered down at us waving arms and urging us to climb just a bit higher. Ropes dangled from the ship’s railing, still too high for me to grab. Knowing Callan would kill me if she realized what I was doing, I toggled off my implant’s safety overrides. I swung Callan up over one shoulder as more adrenaline hit my system. I gave one final burst of speed and, just as the last rope passed overhead, I reached the mountaintop and leapt for the dangling line.

  My fingers wrapped around the rope and strong arms pulled us to the safety of the deck. I carefully put Callan down then toggled on the implant safety overrides. The flow of adrenaline cut off and, for the first time since I’d originally arrived on Aashla, I fell unconscious before I even hit the deck.

  Years ago, before the children were born, I frequently found myself forced to fight for Callan and country. I Boosted far too often and for far too long and rarely gave my body time to recover between Boosts. In retaliation, my body sometimes knocked me out to force inactivity on me. What can I say, sometimes my body knows what I need more than I do. I hadn’t Boosted since I’d led the fight against pirate Captain Quint and his band of cutthroats, so the immunity I’d built up to the aftereffects of Boost was long gone.

  In other words, my body planned on keeping me out for hours. For some perverse reason, life rarely cooperates in these situations. I found myself rising through gradually lightening shades of black until my eyes fluttered open, squinting into the bright desert sky. Cold water dribbled down my cheeks. Callan’s face, wiped clean of dust and dirt and wearing a troubled look, hovered over me, a wooden cup in her hand. Looming above both of us stood two men, both gazing down at me with concern written on their faces.

  “He’s coming around.” Callan put the cup down on the deck.

  I raised a hand to wipe water from my eyes, got a look at my filthy fingers, and decided better of it. “We must be in serious trouble for you to wake me up after I pushed my Boosting limits.”

  “Aye, that we are,” one of the looming men said. “There’s…something…in our wake and it’s moving right quick, too. Her Highness agreed we need your opinion.”

  “You know who we are?”

  “Only a blind man could fail to recognize Princess Callan—even covered in dust,” the man replied. “And who but her husband could run faster up a mountain—while carrying his wife, no less—than any normal, unburdened man could run down the same mountain?”

  Suppressing a groan, I sat up. “I’m sorry I missed the introductions. And you’d be?”

  The man raised a hand in half-salute. “Lon Cochran, owner and captain of the Wind Dancer.” Smiling briefly at my raised eyebrow, Cochran offered a hand to help me stand. “My oldest daughter chose the name and proud I was to register it.”

  “As I would have been in your place. I have a daughter, too.” I arched my back and stretched. “Now where is this strange pursuer?”

  Cochran led me to the stern, handed me a pair of Federation-made binoculars, and pointed at a dot off in the distance. I raised the binoculars and swept the area until I found the object. With the touch of a button, I zoomed in for a closer view and gasped.

  “It sort of looks like a normal airship, ‘cept I’ve got no idea how it flies without an envelope,” Cochran said.

  “Proscribed galactic tech is how, Captain.” I increased the magnification slowly, careful to keep the distant airship centered in my view. “Can this ship go any faster?”

  “Mister Yarrow,” Cochran’s voice took on the edge of command, “raider drill.”

  “Aye, Captain!” The other man who had loomed above me turned away from us, snapping off orders to the crew.

  “What’s raider drill, Captain?” Callan asked.

  “We dump the cargo and bring up the boiler pressure on the ship’s pinnace. If raiders get too close, my family and our passengers can escape in the pinnace while the crew and I stay and fight.”

  “I’d advise putting your family aboard the pinnace as soon as possible. Without the drag of an envelope slowing it down, I don’t see how we can outrun that airship.” I continued examining the approaching airship. Beyond the blaster rifles carried by the entirely human crew, I saw no signs of any advanced weaponry. “Have you got a good pilot to fly the pinnace?”

  “Aye, Captain Rice. Jade, the same daughter who named the Dancer.”

  “Good.” I lowered the binoculars. “Callan, you-”

  “Will go on the pinnace. Yes, darling.”

  My eyebrows rose almost to my hairline. “Who are you and what have you done with my wife?”

  “Perhaps motherhood has changed my perspective. Besides, someone has to remain free to organize the rescue.”

  “And who better to do that than Lady Death herself?”

  Callan rolled her eyes and turned toward Cochran. “You wouldn’t be in this danger had you not come looking for survivors from our wrecks, Captain. The Mordanian treasury will reimburse you for your losses.”

  “What say we worry about that after we’re all safe, Your Highness?”

  Before Callan could reply, a tall blonde girl of fifteen or sixteen years crowded in between Callan and Cochran. “Yarrow says you’re sending me off in the pinnace, Dad.”

  “Mister Yarrow. And yes, I need you to pilot it away from that thing.” Cochran waved a hand toward the distant airship.

  The girl turned bright green eyes on our pursuer and stared for a few seconds. “How the hell does it fly?”

  “Watch your tongue, Jade!” Cochran shook his head in dismay. “We have visitors.”

  Apparently noticing us for the first time, Cochran’s daughter gave us a dismissive glance. Then her eyes widened and swung back to us—alighting on me for some reason. Her mouth formed an ‘O’ of surprise.

  “Oh my God! You’re him!”

  I smiled and sketched a brief bow. “David Rice at your service, Miss Cochran. And may I present my wife, Princess Callan?”

  Jade’s eyes cut to Callan for a split second. “Hi.” Then the girl’s eyes snapped back to me and she just stared.

  “Jade, get busy preparing the pinnace,” her father ordered. His daughter didn’t move or speak or show that she’d heard a thing her father said. Cochran caught Jade’s jaw and gently turned her to face him. “I said go prepare the pinnace for launch. You’re taking Princess Callan along with your mother, Will, Sasha, and the Sunes.”

  “Oh, right! Um, aye aye, Dad.” Jade turned away but managed to keep her eyes on me until the last second.

  Cochran sighed as she scampered aft. “My apologies to you both. The girl has much better manners than that but, well…”

  “She has the good taste to be smitten with David,” Callan finished for Cochran.

  Cochran nodded. “He was her first big crush. She’s read all of the books and has even got one of those photo graph things of him pinned to the bulkhead in her cabin.”

  Before I could come up with a response to that news, the first boxes of cargo crashed into the ground hundreds of feet beneath the Wind Dancer. Knowing time was short, I pulled Callan close for a quick kiss.

 
“Take care of yourself, darling,” she whispered into my ear.

  “I will. You do the same.”

  Two minutes later, the pinnace launched from the Dancer’s bow and slowly pulled away from the larger, heavier ship. Then I returned to the bow and once again focused on the approaching airship. It was still well astern of us but close enough for me to make out individual faces—and one of them was all too familiar.

  Raoul, exiled prince of Tarteg, captained the pursuing airship.

  I just stared through the binoculars for a few seconds wondering exactly what terrible sins I had committed in a previous life. Why else would God see fit to counter the boundless joy my family gives me with a pathetic, revenge-minded festering wound of a human like Raoul? And what kind of idiot would turn such a man loose on Aashla with galactic tech?

  I lowered the binoculars. “Well, hell.”

  “You look like you swallowed a live hornet, Captain Rice,” Cochran said. “What did you see?”

  “The captain of our pursuing airship. He’s none other than my arch pain in the ass, Raoul.” I sighed, handing the binoculars back to Cochran. “He and I have crossed paths several times though not in the last five or six years.”

  “And Raoul always comes out the worse for being foolish enough to go up against you.” Cochran grinned at the surprised look I gave him. “Even if Jade hadn’t told us all about your adventures dozens of times, we’d know about you and Raoul. I expect most everyone on Aashla does by now. That’s likely to make Raoul hate you even more, of course.”

  “Count on it.” I glanced over my shoulder at the pinnace that was now well ahead of us. “On the plus side, once Raoul spots me he will completely ignore the pinnace.”

  “Let’s not waste any time waiting for him to notice.” Cochran called his signal man over. “Mister Gant, could you please send a message to the airship behind us? Tell them Captain David Rice is aboard and warn them to turn back before he gets angry.”

  As Gant climbed to his signal perch, I couldn’t help but grin. “That message will have Raoul seeing red!”