“Same here,” Reb said, as she also put on her goggles.
Giles checked the time on his pocket watch. “Maybe some games would be fun. Malcolm, you should come and join me. Do you like croquet?”
“Probably not, but I’ll give it a whirl,” Malcolm replied.
The two men stood up and exited the dining hall together.
While the Steampunks were enjoying their cruise, a pirate ship had sailed closer to the ocean liner. The pirate ship was a sturdy vessel that was created from bronze and iron. The pirates concealed their cannons and flag so other sea travelers would not identify them as enemies. Their firearms were old-fashioned pistols with explosive gunpowder that could penetrate grafted clothing. Their short-range weapons included pirate swords, axes, tridents, and hammers. They also copied advanced navigational systems from the Steampunk culture that detected ships above and below the ocean’s surface.
The pirate captain, Adonis Pavlos, pulled out his brass telescope to view the ocean liner. He was an intimidating man with a feathered pirate hat, long coat, Victorian-style vest, button-front shirt, utility belt, black pants, and leather pirate boots. His sword was made out of titanium and much longer than the usual pirate swords.
“That’s our target. Word of mouth says that ocean liner is concealing a huge treasure. That’s exactly what we need,” Adonis said, as he put away the telescope.
His first mate, Blaze Spencer, joined him on deck. “How do you know there’s a treasure on the ship? That could be a rumor. I don’t want to waste our time attacking a useless ocean liner.”
Adonis scolded Blaze, “That ship was designed to carry precious cargo. I pulled some strings and got a copy of the blueprints. The ocean liner’s underbelly carries a massive cargo that’s not accessible to the public. They’re sailing to Alaska and I’m sure the ship is carrying something valuable for trading or selling. Don’t question my judgment. I’ve been on the sea much longer than you.”
“I see what you mean. What type of treasure do you think they’re carrying?” Blaze wondered out loud.
Adonis paced on the deck and said, “It must be something incredible. The underbelly is enormous, and it can hold almost unlimited amounts of cargo. I’m sure they’re carrying precious jewels; like diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires. The ship might have ancient artifacts or priceless artwork. Maybe it has massive amounts of money. This treasure will make us rich!”
Blaze was still skeptical. “Not that I doubt your plan, but look at the size of that ocean liner. It could easily sink our medium-sized pirate ship.”
“That ocean liner wasn’t made for fighting. In an emergency, it can transform into a submarine and escape underwater,” Adonis stated.
“How would we get the treasure if it disappeared into the ocean?” Blaze asked in a confused tone.
“We need to move quickly and kill the ship’s crew who handle the control panel. The emergency system must be activated manually, and it won’t be a problem if we eliminate the crew before they can do anything,” Adonis explained.
Blaze was intrigued. “I suppose it might work. What are you planning to do next?”
“I need to prep the crew. Follow me,” Adonis said as he walked to the other side of the deck.
Blaze followed Adonis until the captain climbed onto a podium. The pirate crew gathered and bickered with each other on the deck while they waited for directions.
Their first mate used a megaphone to get their attention. “Listen up! Our captain has a plan!”
The pirates stopped quarreling and looked at their leader.
Adonis unsheathed his sword and proudly declared, “This is the day when we get our biggest treasure yet! Money! Jewels! There will be more treasure than any of you could spend in a lifetime! We’re going to attack those Steampunks with their own technology! They already fear us because we’re a bigger enemy than the pathetic Utopians! What was their problem? The Utopians were ignorant and weak! They didn’t know anything about the Steampunks! The Utopians clung onto a sad aesthetic about power, politics, and revenge! Forget about those elements! This is about greed! Make the treasure your highest priority! Now; go and prove that you’re stronger than the Steampunks!”
The pirates took out their weapons as they cheered and hollered. They ran to several battle stations and prepared for the attack. Some of the pirates prepared the cannons with flammable and explosive gunpowder. They hauled the heavy cannons to appropriate locations and aimed them at the ocean liner. Other pirates prepared ropes on the mast, while their crewmates hoisted rowboats to the sides.
Blaze pulled out his navigational system as he followed the captain. “How long do you think we can last before the navy finds us?”
“Only a few hours. They’ll catch an automated distress signal after we start attacking the ship. That’s why I need this crew to move efficiently. I need some of them to search for the treasure while everyone else can keep those Steampunks busy on the surface,” Adonis explained.
Blaze prepared his weapons. “I’ll come with you. That’s a big treasure and you’ll need a lot of help.”
Adonis stopped his first mate. “Actually, I need you to stay here and keep our ship under control. Some of our crew needs to stay here in case we run into trouble. Keep a close eye on that navigational system. You’re not allowed to screw up.”
“Of course, Captain. I can handle the crew,” Blaze dutifully responded.
Adonis began to walk away, but turned back to say, “Keep them under control unless you want to walk the plank! I’m serious!”
Blaze nervously gulped while his captain prepared for the attack.
On the ocean liner, Captain Enzo Giovanni entered the control room. He looked out the window and saw the pirate ship coming closer. The ocean liner’s captain felt uneasy about the mysterious boat.
Enzo approached his first mate, Johann Brenner, and asked, “Why is that boat heading in our direction? It doesn’t seem right.”
Johann was manning the steering wheel and looked over in the direction the captain was pointing. “I think it’s just a whale-watching boat or something.”
“Let’s keep an eye on it. I don’t want to alarm the passengers, but there’s been a lot of trouble with pirates lately,” Enzo said, while he glanced through the window again.
Johann wasn’t worried about it. “That boat doesn’t look like a pirate ship at all. Just relax and enjoy the cruise, Captain.”
Back on the pirate ship, Blaze barked orders to the crew, “Somebody needs to kick the engine in high gear! We need to get closer!”
One of the pirates increased the ship’s speed, prompting their vessel to sail quickly toward the ocean liner.
Gable and Reb noticed the pirate ship approaching.
“Why is that ship coming so close?” Reb wondered out loud.
A couple of the pirates loaded a cannon and aimed it directly in their direction.
“That’s a cannon!” Gable shouted.
The pirates fired their cannon and sent a flaming cannonball at the duo. Gable and Reb barely had enough time to shield their faces. The cannonball hit the deck and created a massive explosion that engulfed both of them in flames, sending both siblings flying backward into the ship’s interior.
Chapter 11
The explosion destroyed part of the ocean liner’s deck and knocked many Steampunks off their feet. Reb was blasted into the dining hall where her family was located. The fiery cannonball sent Gable careening into the unoccupied ballroom. Enzo and his crew fell down from the impact.
Reb writhed on the floor. “Help me! I’m on fire!”
Percy, Savannah, Priscilla, and Beauregard looked on in horror as they tried to stand up. The other Steampunks panicked and fled from the dining room.
“That’s Reb! We need something to put out the fire!” Percy yelled as he grabbed a tablecloth.
The foursome hurried to Reb and smothered the flames.
“It’s going to be okay, baby!” Savannah insisted
.
Beauregard panicked. “Who are you kidding? She was engulfed in flames!”
“Our clothes are fireproof! That’s part of our defense!” Priscilla argued.
From the pirate ship, Blaze used a telescope to assess their damage. He opened a trap door in the floor, then motioned to his crewmates, who operated the cannons. “Fire another one!”
They lit the fuse on a second cannon and aimed it at the ocean liner. The pirates fired another cannonball, causing a huge explosion in the gambling room, that knocked more Steampunks off their feet. At that point, the pirate ship was close enough for Adonis and his crew to lay siege to the ocean liner.
“Follow me, boys! Let’s get that treasure!” Adonis ordered as he boarded one of the rowboats.
Several of the pirates used ropes on the mast to swing through the air and infiltrate the ocean liner. They landed on the deck and terrorized the passengers. Adonis and several more thugs quickly rowed across the water and used specialized suction cups to climb up the metal ship. Before Enzo and his crew could get up, the pirates had already invaded the ocean liner.
Blaze watched from the pirate ship and yelled to the pirates who remained onboard, “Hold your fire! Our men are onboard the ship now! We don’t want to injure anyone from our crew!”
Adonis unsheathed his titanium sword and killed a couple of Steampunks who attacked him. “All right, men! Keep these Steampunks out of my way! I’m heading straight for the underbelly!”
Enzo and his crew finally stood up. “We’re being attacked! Hit the emergency switch!”
Johann hurried to a large button that was located on the control panel. “Yes, Captain!”
He slammed his hand on the button, triggering an alarm system.
Blaze noticed red lights and sirens from the ocean liner. “Something isn’t right! Fire another cannon! Aim for the control room!”
Two pirates armed another cannon and fired at the ship again. The cannonball blasted through the control room and exploded, killing Enzo and his crew. It was too late, metal panels were dispatched from underneath the ship. The panels quickly encased the ship, trapping Steampunks and pirates alike inside the vessel. Propellers automatically powered up and rotated, moving the newly-formed submarine across the water. The submarine had an automatic pilot mode that prompted the vessel to dive underwater. As it headed down into the ocean, the passengers were tossed around. The Steampunks and pirates slid and tumbled across the floor.
Percy, Savannah, and everyone else in the dining hall slid toward one of the walls. Percy grabbed onto a table that was bolted to the floor, then grabbed Savannah’s hand.
“Hold on!” Percy yelled through gritted teeth.
“Like I have a choice! Don’t let go!” Savannah yelled.
Priscilla and Reb slid across the floor.
“This is too much turmoil for one day!” Priscilla complained.
Reb futilely tried to grab onto something. “Tell me about it! At least you weren’t blown up!”
Beauregard gripped the doorway that led to the deck. He climbed out and slid across the deck until he slammed into a table. The impact was rough, but his grafted body and clothes took most of the blow. “I’m not going to pile up with those people like a bunch of sardines! No way!”
Giles and Malcolm also tumbled across the deck.
“What’s happening?” Malcolm asked in a frightened tone.
“The ship must be heading into submarine mode! Grab onto something!” Giles hollered.
Adonis also slid across the deck until he pulled out a hook and impaled it into the floor.
“You idiots! Why didn’t you prevent the crew from triggering the submarine system? Somebody’s head is going to roll when we get back to the ship!” the terrorist leader roared.
Blaze and the remaining pirates lost sight of the ship when it dove underwater.
A pirate looked over the side. “The ship is gone! How are we going to find the captain and everyone else?”
Blaze looked at the submarine’s image on his navigational tablet. “Stay calm! Adonis gave me this tracking device that will detect the submarine’s location! Head north! I can tell the submarine is starting to veer in that direction!”
Eventually, the Steampunk vessel cruised deep underneath the ocean at a mellow pace. It gave the wayward passengers a chance to regain their footing. Unfortunately, they were trapped inside with a band of ruthless pirates, and the trip was going to be treacherous.
Chapter 12
Giles and Malcolm stood up once the submarine stabilized. They looked at their surrounding while the other passengers fled to find shelter and weapons. Giles looked up and saw an iron ceiling that covered them from the outside.
“This is a terrible time for me to be unarmed. Malcolm, do you have any weapons?” Giles asked.
Malcolm pulled a small Steampunk handgun out of his belt. “Yeah, but I’ve never used a gun before.”
Giles sighed and then said, “It’s better than nothing. This is such a mess. I hope everybody else is okay. We should try to find Reb and the rest of her family.”
“Well, I know Reb and Gable had taken a walk somewhere on the deck. Everybody else was still in the dining room,” Malcolm responded.
Giles scratched his head. “I’m really worried about Reb, but it might be easier to search in the dining room first.”
Before they could finish their plan, one of the pirates ran toward them and pulled out a vintage pistol.
“Die, Steampunks!” the pirate growled as he fired at them.
The bullet missed both men and destroyed a display in the miniature golf game.
“Take cover!” Giles shouted, as he grabbed Malcolm and ducked around the corner.
Malcolm was alarmed by the attack. “What kind of gun is that? The bullets are almost like tiny explosives!”
“That’s a pirate pistol. I can tell they’re using explosive gunpowder. The metal in our bones weren’t the only thing people changed on a molecular level. Luckily, those guns can only hold one bullet at a time,” Giles explained.
Malcolm felt a boost of confidence. “That means he needs to reload. Stay here. I might be able to get him.”
He jumped up and fired several shots at the pirate. Unfortunately, he missed each time.
“Crazy Steampunks! I’m out of here!” the pirate shouted as he ran away.
Giles joined his companion. “You’re a lousy shot! Not one of those bullets even grazed his body!”
Malcolm was embarrassed. “What do you expect? I’ve don’t know anything about guns!”
“Let’s not dwell on it. We both need to be really careful. I can tell those bullets can penetrate our clothes. Unlike the Utopians, these pirates know how to fight Steampunks. Let’s retrace our steps to the dining room,” Giles firmly stated.
Meanwhile, Percy, Savannah, Priscilla, and Reb struggled to stand up along with the other guests who were gathered in the dining room.
Savannah wiped the soot off Reb’s coat. “You’re a lucky girl. I don’t know how you got set on fire.”
“Our ship was attacked by pirates. Their boat has some type of cannon that fires explosive cannonballs. It was insane,” Reb muttered.
“Where’s your brother? He was with you before the attack happened,” Percy said in a worried tone.
“I don’t know. He was with me when the cannon hit us, but I’m the only one who landed in this room,” Reb answered.
Priscilla was overwhelmed with dread. “No! I’m not reliving the mansion incident again! This time I’m going to find Gable right away! With all due respect, I can’t stay here!”
She ran out of the dining room to search for Gable.
Percy slammed his fist on a table. “When is everyone going to learn that we need to stick together?”
“Speaking of that, I can tell Beau already fled the scene,” Reb grumbled.
Savannah glanced around the dining room. “You’re right. He won’t last long against a gang of pirates. Beauregard d
oesn’t know how to fight like a Steampunk yet.”
“I’m sure we’ll find Gable and everyone else. This time, we need to stay low. I don’t think any of us have weapons this time. We didn’t think it would be necessary to have weapons at the breakfast table,” Percy lectured.
Reb growled with frustration. “You’re absolutely right! I lost my baton in the explosion! Those lousy pirates aren’t getting away with it!”
Savannah held onto Reb’s waist. “Your dad and I can help you walk if you need assistance.”
“I’m a big girl. Let’s just find the others before our day gets worse,” Reb bitterly replied.
Beauregard opened a door and entered one of the hallways. He ventured through the corridor and entered the ballroom. Beauregard gasped when he saw Gable burning on the floor. The artist removed his jacket and smothered the flames. He quickly put out the fire and looked at his Victorian coat.
“It doesn’t have any damage. That’s remarkable,” Beauregard said to himself.
Gable coughed and brushed the ashes off his clothes. “Your clothes are fireproof. Thermal manipulation is part of Steampunk technology.”
Beauregard was surprised to see that Gable was alive. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. Steampunks must be indestructible.”
“That’s not true. We’re just stubborn,” Gable grumbled as he hobbled to his feet.
“Gable, what’s going on? The boat started shaking and then everything went crazy. Reb was covered in flames, and then you were laying here on fire too. The ocean liner performed a lockdown sequence and transformed into a submarine,” Beauregard questioned.
“This ship was attacked by pirates. Reb and I saw their boat shoot a flaming cannonball at us. I hope she’s okay,” Gable stated.
Beauregard sheepishly responded, “Sorry, but I can’t confirm that. When the submarine dove underwater, I fled from the dining room. She blasted through the door, but I panicked and ran away.”
Gable tried not to hold Beauregard’s cowardice against him. “Sadly, that’s a perfectly normal human reaction. You need to spend more time as a Steampunk. I think you’ll learn to fight more and scamper less.”
The Post-Apocalyptic Society: A Nelson and Hyde Revolution Page 18
