by Lyz Russo
~
It was dark when Paean and Federi finally came across the gangway back to the Solar Wind. Radomir Lascek was waiting for them. He greeted Federi with a wry grin and a handshake.
“Tzigan! I wronged you, my friend. You were right. You saved the Solar Wind. Again.”
Federi looked up at Lascek with a grin and a peculiar glint in his eye. One gypsy eyebrow was raised in irony.
“ ‘s fine, Captain,” he said. “Tzigan should sometimes stick to the rules.”
“If you had, we’d all be dead,” said Lascek. “Stay exactly as you are, Federi.”
“Nu, Captain,” retorted Federi, grinning. “Niente! I’ll be brainlessly submissive ever after. ‘s what you ordered. You’ll have to do all my thinking for me. And I want a written job description.”
“Oh, for the love of spiky sea urchins, Tzigan! You’ve been given a brain for a purpose!”
“Haha,” replied the Jester. “Too much work writing out job descriptions? Want to delegate it to Federi?”
“To Marsden,” snapped Lascek. “Your handwriting is illegitimate. What? No! Nonsense! There shall be no written job descriptions on the pirate ship! You do as I tell you, basta!”
Federi was laughing. Radomir Lascek realized he’d just been talked around in a circle. He assessed the gypsy. Nervous breakdown? Jolly unlikely! And what was that allusion to rules? Which rules had been broken now? He wondered.
Paean made a beeline for the rigging and climbed via the handholds on the mast into the Crow’s Nest. And that in the dark! Moments later, snatches of Irish tunes started floating down on the sea breeze. Lascek watched her with amazement, and some concern. What had gone down on that Schooner?
“Don’t you want to fetch her down from there?” he suggested to Federi.
The response was silence. He turned to his Tzigan. The guy had vanished.
Hells! Sometimes the Solar Wind felt like a circus ship full of ghosts. And sometimes he wondered if he had ended in an asylum. As supervisor!
Ailyss turned to Marsden, who had followed the Captain down to the deck. Keenan was hanging onto her.
“Please, sir,” she said.
The First Mate turned and nailed her with a hard glare. She flinched. She had never seen the courteous man look that angry.
“You know what, Ailyss, almost we had hoped we’d get to Hawaii without you doing anything of the sort,” he said curtly. “Captain Radomir is no fool. He knew from the second you boarded that he was hiring a spy. Must have seen something special in you to take you on in any case.”
This didn’t help things along.
“I have to show you what else I’ve done, sir,” said Ailyss. There was always a hope that Captain would be true to his word and keep her brother safe even after she was put ashore to be left to the Unicate. She knew in her deepest nuclear core that the ship was the only place Keenan would ever really be safe now. So the only way now was to play open cards. Well, as open as she could manage. It was a fine line. She’d have to be careful not to jeopardize things for Keenan.
“Just tell me,” said Marsden.
“No, I have to show you this one, sir.”
Ailyss led the computer technologist into the machine room and pulled something out behind the computer terminal. She placed it in Marsden’s open palm.
“Got to destroy this, sir.”
“My word,” said Marsden with a smile. “Look at it! So small, so deadly!” Almost, he thought, like little Paean’s green wonder bug. But that was not right. He had been wrong about Paean. Though she wreaked havoc, she was one of their own. This one… “Thanks for handing it over,” said the First Mate. “Captain will be very interested in this! Are there any others?”
“No.”
“Good!” Marsden turned Ailyss and Keenan over to Wolf in the infirmary and went to show the Captain the transmitter.
Rodriguez approached Lascek once again. “I don’t want to intrude upon a tender moment, but I’m not quite clear now what my options are!”
Lascek summed him up. A piratical grin spread over his face. What an interesting twist! The Barracuda lay wrecked upon the rocks. But there was a huge Rebellion Schooner that was, at this point, in the way… If Rodriguez arrived in Hawaii on a Rebellion ship, how would the Unicate react to that? Radomir Lascek couldn’t resist such puzzles.
“Would you consider taking that Schooner?”
“Gladly,” said Rodriguez. The course had been laid. There was no way he could return to Cuba without his Barracuda. The Unicate punished deserters efficiently and rather terminally; and losing a whole ship – well…
Dr Jake searched the Schooner for any further data capsules and chips. There was nothing. He took all he could off the ship computer. Marsden rewrote the Schooner’s identity in situ. Rodriguez was unaware of all this. Radomir Lascek was keeping him in the boardroom with a cup of coffee, discussing his options. The obvious thing would be to sell the ship off and buy one of equal capacity that didn’t have a Rebellion background. A good place to do this was the pirate port of Atuona. The most important question was about the bounty money. Radomir Lascek grinned and shrugged.
“It’s a risk you take, as a bounty hunter,” he said. “If you want bounty – there are lots of pirates on the Pacific!”
The Cuban took his men onto the Schooner. It was a beautiful ship, much larger and more elaborate than the little Barracuda he had been used to. This took being a captain to new dimensions. And she came fully provisioned and all!
Soon the Cuban Coastal Guard set off for new horizons.
“Urgh,” said Little Cloud Navarro. “All these dead corpses aboard!”
“Ever seen a live corpse?” asked Romero.
“Never hope to.”
Ronan and Rushka were celebrating their newly found romance in the dark jib stowage area at the Solar Wind’s prow.
“There you are!” said Shawn brightly, shining a torch into the eyes of the blushing teen couple. “Listen, you two. Secret gathering in the Infirmary. Got a lady in distress.”
“Go away!” growled Ronan.
“I think this is important,” said Rushka. “Come, Ronan.”
They followed the pesky twelve-year-old down to Sick Bay.
Radomir Lascek punched the dysfunctional radar. It made no difference. And it didn’t solve his question about Ailyss either. What Marsden suggested was fiendish. But then Lascek wasn’t even sure how serious his First Mate had been.
He himself was furious. According to Dr Jake, Ailyss was one of the most promising young nuclear technicians the scientist had ever worked with. And she knew how to program. At root level! A skill that betrayed just how good an agent she was. Unicate certainly didn’t train just any spy to that level of insight. She would have been a brilliant addition to his crew – if the Lascekian magic had worked, which it hadn’t. He had failed. He had been preoccupied. He ought to have given her more attention before she had reason to make her move.
The Rebellion had gone sour against the Solar Wind because of her!
“She should be made to walk the plank, keel-hauled and hung by her toes from the rigging,” he growled. “The whole darned Rebellion on our tails! But her little brother…” And Radomir Lascek ought to be punished too, he thought bitterly, for rescuing someone who needed it, and then failing her.
Jonathan Marsden turned the transmitter over in his hand. What had Ailyss’ unspoken message been, leading him to it? A cry for help! Why? Was she hoping to escape justice? Did she think he liked her any more or judged her any less harshly than the others for what she had done? He agreed with Captain Radomir – she deserved to be terminated.
“Won’t go down very well,” he said. “She’s been one of us.”
“If I’d found Federi to be a turncoat, I’d let him walk the plank,” said Lascek grimly. “And no bones about it.”
/> “You’d have a genuine mutiny on your hands then,” advised Marsden. “And I can’t even say I would pick your side. He’s not a turncoat. Unwise and rash, sure, but not a turncoat.”
“Yes, yes, Marsden, point taken. So what do we do with our little saboteur?”
“We interrogate her,” said Marsden. “I’d like to know why, so suddenly.”
“You’re saying she acted out of character?” asked Lascek with surprise.
Marsden peered at him thoughtfully.
In the infirmary Rhine Gold, Wolf and Shawn were already interrogating Ailyss. Ronan and Rushka sat close together on the vacant bunk, holding hands and listening. Ailyss’ little brother sat by her side on the same bunk and refused to budge. Shawn was seated cross-legged at the foot of Wolf’s bed, having almost accidentally sat down on the man’s recovering knee. Rhine Gold’s tall frame occupied the only available chair. The cabin was rather small and seating limited; so the entire meeting had a feeling of a conspiracy to it. Which was what it was.
“You’d better spill it now, Ailyss,” said Shawn. “This is the sympathetic crowd. We know you tried to kill us all. We want to know why.”
Ailyss looked at them speechlessly.
“Captain will execute you, Ailyss,” said Rushka. “You know he will. You must tell us what happened. Maybe we can change his mind.”
Execute her? She had thought Captain would put her ashore for the Unicate to do their worst. There was always a chance on escape. But if he opted for the Law of the Pacific – she swallowed. Things were looking grim indeed. She glanced at her little brother who was clinging to her hand, pale as death. And the rest of Rushka’s suggestion sank in. They were going to try changing Captain’s mind?
“You’d do that for me?” And from Rushka? Ailyss was amazed.
“Of course,” said Wolf. “Guys, can we have a vote? Who’s going to help talk the Captain round?”
The young crowd was unanimous.
A few hours back she had deliberately thought of them all as delinquents, human garbage. She saw them differently now: A group of young survivors who cared about her. Good grief, with what did she deserve that? Who was the garbage?
“Guys,” she sighed. “You don’t understand. Surely Captain is justified to execute me. I definitely don’t deserve you for friends.”
Her little brother looked ready to cry.
She came out with her story. She was to meet with her original employers, who were Unicate, in Hawaii. The idea was to deliver as much information about the Solar Wind as she could – such facts as that she could submerge, any soft spots she might have, her plan of action, of which Ailyss had gleaned nothing, and other items of interest, such as Paean’s sleep bug. Unicate had employed her so they could finish the Solar Wind off once and for all. She was also to send a signal to prepare the harbour as they approached. It had so nearly worked in Port Hamilton! In Panama she hadn’t stood a chance – Paean’s bug had wiped her out before she’d had a gap to send any kind of signal. She smiled about this, thankful now that it had worked that way. It was one less charge against her.
But ever since the data capsule had gone missing on Hiva Oa and a Rebellion Schooner was sunk after capturing two Solar Wind pirates, the Rebellion also had it in for the Solar Wind. They wanted that capsule! Taking Paean and Sherman hostage had been a windfall for them, a lucky break. According to what Keenan had gathered, they had not hurt the captives so that they could bargain the data capsule back, if necessary by means of torture. And after that, they wanted Lascek out of the way, and no witnesses. Federi had shown no mercy on the Schooner; accordingly the Rebellion was going to show no mercy to Lascek and his crew.
Instead of paying Ailyss, they had kidnapped her brother right out of their apartment on Nuku Hiva, where he had stayed with their child carer. They had put pressure on Ailyss, threatening to kill her little brother, the only relative she had and whom she had practically raised alone ever since Mom and Da had died horribly.
She looked at Shawn in desperation. A wave splashed against the infirmary’s dark porthole.
“We’ll protect you,” he promised. “We’d also kill to protect our families. Let’s tell Federi! He’s always the first with a good plan.”
The others nodded approvingly. Ailyss shook her head sceptically. Federi? He wasn’t going to protect her! He was going to kill her! Shawn scooted off to find him.
The Romany was in his cabin, cross-legged on his bunk, carefully wrapping thin gold wire around the middle of something small. It looked alive. Shawn came closer.
“Hey, a lock,” he said when he recognized the small furry thing. “Whose hair is this?”
“You can’t tell?” asked Federi with a smile.
“Wow – it’s Paean’s! That’s funny,” said Shawn. “Didn’t know she loses hair!”
“She’s moulting,” commented the gypsy. “You wanted me, Shawn?”
“Yip. Must help Ailyss get a plan.”
Federi stopped his hands for a second. “Ailyss, huh. Yeah, I’ll bet she needs all the help she can get now.” He continued wrapping the wire. Then he reached for a small pair of pliers and twisted the ends around each other. He had looped a tiny metal nut into the gold wire, and now he dug in his treasure chest of drawers, extracting a long gold chain. He threaded the chain through the nut and hung the whole thing around his neck, hiding it under his clothes.
“You what – why have you – and why aren’t you –“ asked Shawn.
Federi waved his long fingers hypnotically.
“You didn’t see anything,” he said enigmatically.
“But why are you wearing Paean’s hair?”
“Black magic,” said Federi softly and grinned. When Shawn looked troubled, Federi laughed out loud. “Don’t worry, my boy! I’d never hurt a hair on your sister’s head!”
“Sure,” said Shawn thoughtfully. “But you wouldn’t help Keenan’s sister, now would you?”
“Do you feel so strongly about it?”
“Captain will kill her! She tried to sink the Solar Wind! But he doesn’t understand why!”
He didn’t know what to make of the dark glare he received from the Romany. Suddenly he wasn’t at all certain anymore that Federi was the right person to ask for help.
“Alright,” sighed Federi. “Seeing that I’m the spokesperson for the younger crowd here – take me to your leader.”
In the infirmary, the gypsy listened to the whole saga from Ailyss.
“Can’t say I approve of having her aboard at all. I’d have thrown her off in Plymouth,” he commented. Ailyss scowled, her green eyes narrowed like a cat’s. She was more scared of him than of her prospects. She should be!
“Captain had his reasons,” said Rhine Gold.
“Who knows what those are,” said Federi darkly. “You know, Shawn, Ronan, I used to think I understood how the Captain’s mind works. Must say today I’ve seen a side to him that I didn’t know was there. I don’t know if this is one that I can navigate, Shawn.”
“But how do you feel about this, Federi? She must stay aboard, it’s her only chance.”
Federi studied the agent. He’d have said, her only chance were if Captain were silly enough to let her ashore. She was wily enough any day to escape the Unicate. And the Rebellion. Ha! Unless Captain delivered her directly into the hands of the Stabilizers, as he’d done with Miller. Almost, Federi felt sorry for the pale girl. But she would have sunk them all, anna bottle! His crew, his friends. Even Wolf who had a shine on her. Even Shawn who was only twelve! Why were they trying to protect her? He should blasted well hand her over to the authorities himself.
“I agree, the Unicate will not take kindly to all these details,” he pointed out sarcastically. “Maybe they’ll string her up. Like a puppet. Or maybe they’ll just put her into a cage over the port and let her waste away.” He saw the terrified eyes of the little boy and
paused. It always hit the children! Keenan Quinlan, only eleven, having to witness his sister’s death… And then? The Unicate was thorough. They wanted no witnesses. Keenan was next!
Damned! Not while he had a say in it! “I’m sorry. Keenan? Listen, boy. No harm shall come to you and your sister as long as Federi can do anything about it.” Blast, Federi, he thought, you soft-bellied old pushover!
It seemed to comfort the little boy somewhat, although the Romany could see that the child didn’t trust his word. It certainly brightened Shawn’s mood a lot though. Federi realized that Shawn hadn’t been all that certain of his case in the first place. Ailyss looked immensely surprised. Well hell, she should be! He was too! The gypsy glanced at her, a cryptic smile in the corner of his mouth.
“Lucky Ailyss,” he said. “You still have your little brother!”
Ailyss nodded, and swallowed.
“We’ll keep it that way,” said Federi, turning to Keenan. “You’ve got to protect your sister, understood, Keenan?” He frowned. “You are starved! You’d better come with me to the galley, so I can give you some food!”
He led the way, Shawn following with Keenan who was still rather wary of the man with the blooded knife who had killed everybody aboard the Schooner.
Marsden came into the galley. He looked quite drained.
“You’ve been overdoing it a bit?” asked Federi, concerned. “You’re not supposed to be hopping around like a mad thing!”
“I’m fine,” insisted Marsden. “Make me some strong coffee, my friend.” He narrowed his eyes. “You’re looking better though,” he said. “Not as stretched.”
“Cor, old buddy,” said Federi. “Then again we’re not currently being hunted down by the Rebellion fleet, are we! ‘s a curse, that gypsy radar.”
“It’s a blessing,” disagreed Marsden. “Without it we’d all be dead now.”
“How much longer?” asked Federi. “Think about it! What’s the point in executing Ailyss? Couple of weeks later it’s all of us anyway!”
“There’s that still,” said Marsden with a sympathetic look at his friend. “Don’t envy you, old pal!”
“What? Me?” The Tzigan laughed. “Nu, buddy, you’re way off the mark. I’m not going to be cutting her down! Made a promise! The contrary!” He peered critically at Marsden. “You’re with me there, aren’t you.”
“Hard to tell,” replied the First Mate pan-faced. “Tell me about this new development?”
Federi told Marsden about the request from the younger group while he prepared the coffee.
“They’re unanimous?” asked Marsden. Federi nodded. “Then I think, democratically they already have the majority.”
Federi counted. “Easily.” He grinned. Jon Marsden, their by-the-book-pirate! Democracy had been the rule on pirate ships of old. “Which way do you vote?”
“Difficult one,” said Marsden. “I’m tempted to pick the humane way, but can we trust her to stick by the rules?”
“Don’t know. We’ll only find out in Hawaii, I guess.”
“Or at the bottom of the sea,” added Marsden darkly.
“This is her brother,” said Federi, motioning to Keenan.
“Oh yes. In that case of course I vote we keep them both safe,” said Marsden. “At least until they have new identities.”
“They’ll never really be safe outside Captain’s realm,” said the gypsy. He shook his head worriedly. Blast. Democracy had worked on the pirate ships of old. He guessed, even back then, it had been the democracy of the biggest gun. In this case, Captain was going to come to a conclusion – if he hadn’t already. And all the democracy in the world wouldn’t change his decision. On the Solar Wind, Captain’s word was Law. It was the only way they survived. He didn’t envy Captain for having to speak that verdict. Then again, who knew how the old pirate ticked! “Jon, I don’t think I understand the Captain anymore.”
“He had a lapse,” said Marsden rationally. “Got to see it that way, buddy. Maybe he’s also spread thin.”
Ha! Spread thin! Federi smiled enigmatically and spread some peanut butter from Captain Ali’s stocks onto a slice of toast, which he handed to Keenan. Shawn, always hungry, was the next in line. Marsden studied his friend who suddenly looked quite like the one that got away with it! What had he been up to? Well, the gypsy was an irrepressible optimist, that Jonathan Marsden knew. It was one of his best qualities. He always bounced back quickly.
“We could always keep her under lock and key,” mused Marsden. “She’d be safe and unable to get into trouble that way.”
“That’s a bad solution,” said Federi. “I know her type.” He grinned. “They tend to escape.”
“What would you suggest?”
“Jon, ol’ buddy, she’s made it difficult for us. If she’d connected even with one person here aboard to form a friendship, it would be easier. You can’t expect loyalty from someone who has no ties.”
“So what do we do?”
“We wait and see,” said Federi. Maybe Captain was the one who needed to be chained up – only until a measure of reason had been established and Federi’s promise was going to be kept.
“Actually,” said Marsden thoughtfully, “she did connect.”
“What? With whom?”
“Donegal Magic. Paean.”
Federi bared his teeth. Was Jon still implying that Paean was a spy – even after Ailyss had been unmasked? Was he implying that they knew each other before boarding the Solar Wind – that they were from the same camp? Good grief, did his friend never pay attention at all? The Donegals had narrowly escaped the Unicate!
Even realistically – if you considered the possibility – which was absurd; then why should little Paean risk her own life and make doubly sure that the most dangerous sailor on the Solar Wind, the one who could cut down a whole enemy crew single-handedly, survived and didn’t conveniently self-terminate? It wouldn’t fit into her and Ailyss’ agenda at all! His hand touched the place where that bit of hair was hidden under his shirt. Paean was innocent, basta!
“What makes you say that?” he asked warily.
“Lending her spy novels, apparently.”
“Oh.” Federi sighed. That was evidence? To incriminate Paean? “No, Jon, I’m aware of that one. It’s a one-way street. She lends Paean novels to get her out of her hair.”
“I see,” said Marsden. “Poor little Donegal Magic!” He peered at his friend, waiting for a telltale reaction.
Federi glanced up. “What?” he asked, eyes wide.
“Federi,” laughed Marsden, “forget it! You’ll never manage the innocent look! Your eyes aren’t blue enough!”
“Who, me? Innocent?” asked Federi, shocked.
Marsden glanced at the two young boys. “You’re not going to tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“What took so long on that Schooner?”
Federi laughed.
“Look, Jon,” he said. “I know what you’re thinking. Listen carefully now.” His eyes darted to the boys. Darned right, explanations were due. Who knew what picture they’d build in their minds otherwise! “Paean’s a very sensitive girl. All that blood, all those dead bodies got to her. I sat her down and made her play me a Ceilidh. On her tin whistle. Isda!”
Marsden nodded, his smile ironic. “Sure, Federi.”
“Sure,” agreed Federi, his mind returning inescapably to the bilges of the Schooner. The little mockingbird had given him his life back. She had indeed played a Ceilidh for him. She had sat there, leaning back against him, playing her heart out on her pennywhistle. After he had pirated her curl! How was that? He had listened, frozen; too scared he might chase the wild little sprite away. With her magical powers she had played the mottled sunlight back into his mottled soul; played him a vision of a future. A beach in the dusk, green waves, a ship that lay moored – not the Solar Wind though. A wild
place; a place that existed nowhere on Earth. But now it existed in his mind. And she had run, indeed, as he had expected; after she had brought him safely back onto the ship!
Plan A was still Plan A – find a way for them all to survive, and urgently. And keep the little sunbird close, but without scaring her any further. He returned to the present, where Shawn and Jon Marsden were eyeing him with fascination, and Keenan was wolfing down his sandwiches.
“Focus on Ailyss,” advised Federi, his silver eyetooth glinting.
Old Sherman, Dr Jake and Doc Judith all agreed once they understood the little boy was in the picture, that they had to protect the not-so-innocent along with the innocent.
“Have you spoken to Captain yet?”
Federi shook his head, his falcon eyebrows shooting up. Funny, he thought. They had all witnessed the way Captain had treated him. Yet they relied on him to be the spokesperson for the grown-up crowd too! Oh well. He supposed it came with the unwritten job description of being Federi.
Radomir Lascek looked up as his Tzigan arrived on the bridge, obedient as ever. Unreadable as usual.
“Are you rested, Federi?”
“I’m fine, Captain,” replied Federi, eyebrows arched quizzically. “And otherwise I’m quite healthy too! Must say, every now and then I experience a bit of a zinging in my left ear…” He glanced down at his hands. “Haven’t had any of that since I’ve somehow mislaid my com, though. Could have been that. Indeed.” He grinned.
Radomir Lascek laughed. He had been forced to call the gypsy to the bridge on the ship com. “Good that I find you in health,” he said. “Get your wrist-com back from Shawn, Tzigan! He kept it safe for you. And don’t do that again! Now tell me. What must we do about Ailyss?”
Federi seated himself. He played with the buttons on the radar screen. It showed rocks and the like. “She that nearly sank the Solar Wind?” he asked with a shrug. Like magic, out came the stiletto. He inspected it, tested its edge. Played with it.
“Ailyss,” repeated Captain Lascek, wondering if the innuendo with the blade was meant for him or Ailyss. With the gypsy, a statement was never just a statement. You had to listen carefully. Which he hadn’t exactly been doing. But Federi had his attention now!
“Who has a little brother who has done nothing wrong but was nearly murdered by the Rebels?”
“The same.”
“I had a sister once,” said Federi dreamily. “Failed to rescue her.”
“Federi, can one get a straight answer out of you?”
“Captain?”
“What do you suggest we do with Ailyss!”
“Little double agent,” said Federi. “Scum. Not to be trusted.”
“So what would you do?”
“Why are you asking me, Captain? In all respect, it’s me, your gypsy turncoat speaking. Are you asking because you note a certain – should we say – symmetry?”
“Federi, why are you playing games with me?”
“Captain?”
“I’m asking for your ideas.”
“Captain, I didn’t know I had any.”
Lascek shook his head. He was in fact near to stomping his foot.
“Federi, I have already apologized for this afternoon. What do you want me to do? Grovel?”
“That should be interesting,” muttered Federi with a quirky little smile.
“What can I do to earn back your trust?”
“Ah,” said Federi. “Trust. Loyalty. Friendship.” He took one last loving look at his stiletto and then it vanished, sleight of hand.
“What happened to the impulsive, emotional Federi who was still aboard yesterday?” asked Captain Lascek. “Where’s your heart, man?”
“That guy drowned out there today, Captain. He jumped off a lifeboat and nobody turned around to pick him up.” He watched the Captain closely. “You know, the thing with my gypsy hunches: Voodoo all of it.”
“Nonsense!” bellowed Lascek. “I don’t know how you do it, but you’ve proved beyond doubt that you’ve got that gypsy radar!”
“And yet,” smiled Federi. “Like all hocus-pocus. So accurate at times, and yet sometimes so completely off the mark.”
“Now you’re making up stories, Federi. I’ve never known your hunches to fail!”
“So you would knowingly have left Paean and Sherman to their fate? Who are you? What have you done with Captain Radomir?”
Lascek groaned. “I wronged you, Federi. I didn’t listen to what you were trying to tell me. You actually had to desert in order to do what you had to.”
“Oh, but I didn’t,” smiled Federi. “You told me to get on with my job, Captain. That’s what I did.”
Lascek stared at the Romany. Blast, the man was right! Again!
Federi got tired of the little game. Out came the stiletto again, and his artistic fingers twirled it into a dancing blur. He sighed.
“You only reminded me of my proper station in life,” he said sadly. “Scum. Outcast of the outcasts. Tzigan without a tribe. Henchman. That’s old Federi. Captain, do you really want another one like that aboard?”
Captain Lascek followed the blade of the stiletto, mesmerized.
“On the other hand, do you really want to throw her innocent little brother to the sharks?” The blade danced, whirled. “You could be an assassin yourself,” said Federi thoughtfully. “Except that would be getting your hands dirty. Then again, sometimes you do. People respect you for it.”
It danced and spun, reflecting the light back in all sorts of colours.
“Throw Ailyss off the ship and the Unicate tears her apart. Keep her aboard and she might tear us apart. What do you say, Captain?”
Lascek blinked his gaze away from the spinning blade.
“The difference is that you have a soft core,” said the Captain. “That’s why I had to rescue you. She is a cold fish.”
“She’s got a soft spot too,” said Federi. “Her brother. That’s why she started to sabotage us: Because they were threatening to kill her brother. Take that brother away from her and you have a cold little killing machine. Keep her brother close by and you have a mini-mom. Protect her brother and she’ll be loyal. But – the Law of the Pacific demands a life, ni?”
Lascek sighed wearily.
“And once she’s been executed, what do you do with her innocent little brother?” pushed the Tzigan. “Keep him on? On the ship that murdered his sister? Think he’ll feel a shred of loyalty for us?”
“Loyalty,” said Captain Lascek, relieved that the Romany had finally opened up. “That’s the problem.”
“Don’t think that I’ll terminate her, Captain,” Federi added quickly. “Not a chance. You’ll have to do the dirty work yourself. My quota of terminations for this month is used up.” He grinned. “Better. Pay her to do it herself!”
Radomir Lascek gasped for air.
“Or am I on the wrong track?” asked the Tzigan, eyebrows raised innocently.
“The Law of the Pacific,” said Lascek pensively. “Do we have to? She’s a good nuclear technician, so Dr Jake informs me. Can’t we come up with an alternative?”
“A safe alternative, Captain? Considering your loyal crew first?”
Lascek sighed. “She cracked, my friend. She’s at a point where we could possibly influence her. Don’t you think?”
An arched eyebrow for a response.
“Does it have to be death?” asked Lascek despondently. “Marsden pointed out that we’d have to execute them both.”
This wiped the cynicism off the Romany’s face. He looked shocked.
“Could we find a better solution, Federi?” pleaded the Captain.
“Putting her ashore comes to the same,” said Federi. “Or worse. For us.”
“I wasn’t considering putting her ashore,” said Lascek. “Nor marooning her and Keenan on a piece of plank in the Pacific.”
“That’s exec
ution,” agreed Federi. “Or a gamble. Girl’s got resources.”
Lascek nodded. “I was thinking, Federi – if we kept her on but tied her down by emotional bonds? If her hormones are involved, she’s more likely to be loyal.”
Federi gazed at the dancing stiletto.
“Hormones. A boyfriend. Can’t say I see much fault with that logic,” he said. “Only, when her boyfriend dumps her, will she go on a Solar Wind rampage?”
“That’s why she needs to have a boyfriend who won’t dump her,” said Lascek. “One who understands her perhaps, because he is… a lot like her?”
Federi looked sharply at the Captain. The spinning blade suddenly stood still.
“What exactly are you suggesting, Captain?”
“That you get involved with Ailyss. Why not? Could pull some Unicate information out of her too. Right, Federi? Shouldn’t be too difficult – you are birds of a feather, aren’t you?”
“What?!”
Federi’s hand closed tightly over the stiletto’s blade. A moment elapsed. Federi’s black stare was locked with the Captain’s. A hard stare with a psychopathic edge to it.
“Captain, in all respect, I can’t believe I heard you say that! Are those your orders?”
“I thought it might be an assignment you’d enjoy,” said Captain Lascek, taken aback. He hadn’t expected such a violent refusal! What raw nerve had he touched there? Better to terminate an innocent than fake involvement? Or maybe it wasn’t all that fake… “You can do with the emotional reinforcement too!”
“I’m better at slitting throats!” retorted Federi. “Can’t believe you said that! There’s a word for that!” With one last theatrical flare, the blade vanished. “Captain, ‘scuse me, something’s burning in the galley.” He left.
Lascek looked pensively at the splashes of bright blood following the gypsy off the bridge.
30 - Ailyss’ Trial
Angry pennywhistle tunes splattered down from the Crow’s Nest over the sound of the high surf. Ronan peered into the rigging. It was quite dark now; the deck lights and mast lights were on. The Solar Wind’s sails were furled.
Paean had been up there, it seemed, for hours! But she needed to come down; they needed her voice. Captain had granted a huge concession – a trial for Ailyss. This was the result of Federi’s negotiations.
“Come down, Pae! We need you on deck!” he called to her on his wrist-com.
The response was more disjointed snatches of tunes over the com. Medieval-sounding ones. Paean was in a bad frame, he could hear it.
“Pae, we need your voice,” he tried again. “She’s getting a trial! We’re going to help her!”
“You and what army?” came the cynical reply, and more tunes crashed to the deck.
“You have to come down!” commanded Ronan. “Captain’s orders!” The answer nearly wilted his ears. He seriously hoped that Captain had no way of hearing this conversation. “Och Pae!”
“She’s stuck,” said Federi behind him. “Let’s get her down!”
“You go,” replied Ronan. “She isn’t listening to me.”
“Come with me,” ordered Federi. They climbed up the handholds on the mast, Federi somewhat more slowly than usual. He had a dishcloth wound tightly around his hand.
Paean looked at the two of them approaching and dug in her heels.
“You’re wrong, Federi. I’m not stuck. I just don’t want to be a part of the death sentence of a family member.”
Federi looked at Ronan. “Maybe you’re right, you’d best leave this to me.”
Ronan obediently climbed down again. In any case his mind was not exactly on pulling up errant siblings. Federi had been nominated honorary Donegal; that made him an older brother, so he could take over this duty tonight.
Federi climbed into the Crow’s Nest and found himself at the receiving end of an icy glare. And then she turned away and continued playing, ignoring him, her red hair backlit vaguely against the yellow glow coming from the deck lights. Anger was pulsing from her in blasts. And with it, heartbreak. Aw, little sunbird!
Federi sighed, and put on an easy smile. “Proud of you,” he started.
“You can take your proud,” she said scathingly, “and stick it…”
He shook his head. “She’s getting a trial,” he told her, studying her. “Law of the Pacific says Captain doesn’t have to; her guilt is clear and she’s also admitted to her sabotage. But Captain wants to hear us.”
“Don’t want any part in that!” snapped Paean. “Killing a family member! Federi, don’t make me do this!”
He sighed. She had also been hoping for a silver-dollar moon and no cookie. Curse that Ailyss for breaking his little songbird’s heart!
“And if we can stop her execution?” His teeth nearly blocked the words. Ailyss deserved execution, dammit! But, he supposed, there was the little brother, too. It always hit the children. And Captain’s suggestion of killing them both…
“You want her dead,” Paean observed accurately.
He shook his head. “Yes. I do. But her little brother needs her, Paean. We’ve got to keep her alive for his sake.” A sly smile. “Captain has the same idea. I have a feeling he wants this trial as an excuse so he can let her live.” Not quite a lie, he thought. Only something Captain had said, plus a little wishful thinking. “Somehow I think there won’t be any execution tonight.”
“You’re going to kill her,” said Paean.
“Ha! I’m not!” he exploded. “There’s no flying way! Captain can do his bleeding -” He stopped himself short. The rest of his statement hung in the air between them. As though he’d spoken it.
Her eyebrows lifted, and her light eyes connected with his soul. “Least now you’re truthful,” she remarked, baring a corner tooth in an empty little smile. “Though I haven’t much hope about that Law of the Pacific. What the hell have you done to your hand?”
“Played with a knife,” he grinned.
“Let me see it,” demanded Paean.
“Ni! Don’t want you falling out of the Crow’s Nest!”
“That bad?”
He laughed. “No, Paean! Leave it!” And he stuck the hand, dirty dishcloth and all, into his pocket.
Paean shrugged and peered over the Crow’s Nest’s rim. The crew was gathering on the deck.
“We’re going to hold the trial on the deck?” she asked. Federi followed her gaze. That was odd indeed!
There were quite a few crew on deck by now. Shawn had taken little Keenan under his wing. He was standing next to him, talking excitedly. Keenan was hanging close to his sister, who was quiet and sullen.
“She must be so scared,” said Paean softly. “Poor Ailyss!”
Federi had to bite back a caustic remark about her sinking everyone – including Shawn and Ronan.
“Poor girl,” added Paean. “I really hope we can sway Captain. She needs protection.”
“She needs protection from Captain’s scheming mastermind,” muttered Federi sourly. “Don’t we all, yodiho!”
She glanced at him in surprise, then turned her attention back to the deck. There were Doc, and Dr Jake and Marsden. The latter was heatedly discussing something with Sherman.
“Hay!” exclaimed Paean the next moment and left the Crow’s Nest, shimmying down the rigging with the same agility Shawn usually displayed. “I’ll be fried!” Federi heard her comment on her way down. He followed her, baffled. So it had taken Wolf hobbling onto the deck with a crutch, supported left and right by Ronan and Rhine Gold, to move her out of the Crow’s Nest? Her angry voice chewing the injured engineer out carried up to where he was inching his way down. Blast that cut hand!
“What are you doing out here, Wolf?” exclaimed Paean. “Your knee! You’re going to lose your leg!”
“Better than someone loses her life,” replied Wolf seriously. “Sorry, Paean. Maybe more work
for you later, I know.”
“Oh, for the…” Paean couldn’t think of a suitable curse. Sorry Paean? That was all? She watched speechlessly as Wolf hobbled over to Ailyss on his crutches. Well, she thought, revenge in the offing! She caught Ailyss’ frightened gaze and revised that. Poor girl needed every ally she could get – even if that was One-legged Furbus!
Federi climbed down from the rigging slowly, carefully. Paean glanced back at him. She wondered whether all those reefs and shoals could maybe account for a bout of land madness amongst the crew. The Romany planted himself right behind her, with his left hand on her shoulder. His right hand in his pocket again.
“Promise you’ll let me look at that hand later on?” she asked.
“Why? Want to read me my future?” teased Federi.
“No, anna bottle of – hey! You smell of – hey!!” she hissed, lowering her voice. “Federi, have you been drinking?”
“ ‘s not contagious,” he said with a smirk. “Don’t tell Captain, will you?”
“Don’t make it a habit,” she growled. “Anna bottle of rum!”
“I hate trials,” muttered Federi.
“Is that why?”
“What, the rum?”
She nodded.
“No. Little luv, you know I’m not a drunkard. Now let it go. Focus on Ailyss. She’ll need your voice.”
“Question, Captain,” said Sherman Dougherty as the Captain came down from the bridge. “Why aren’t we in the boardroom?”
“Because our radar is irreparable, at this point,” said Lascek with irony. “I don’t want surprises.”
The crew of the Solar Wind found themselves places on the deck, some sitting, some standing. Ailyss’ little brother was hanging onto his sister’s hand, with Shawn by his side. Rushka stood tall and taciturn at the main mast, her hair tucked away, her face unreadable. A pillar of Law. Paean wondered how much she could count on the Captain’s daughter backing them. Close to Rushka, Wolf had sat down on a box, flanked by Ronan and Rhine Gold, with his injured leg stretched out as straight as the cast allowed. Paean was watching him carefully. All hells, she had put too much work into that leg for him to lose it now!
Ailyss, on the point of being condemned to death. Wolf sacrificing his last chance on keeping his leg. Federi toying with suicide. She shuddered. Sometimes it felt to her as though it was all coming apart under her hands. She had to force herself out of this mental pattern. Where on Earth had that thought come from?
“Ailyss Quinlan,” said the Captain. “You are charged with sabotage, treason and espionage. What have you to say for yourself?”
“Nothing, sir. Guilty as charged,” said Ailyss brokenly. Paean’s heart ached for the girl. Wasn’t anyone going to do something about this? Give her the good news? She turned around to glance at Federi, her eyebrows raised in silent entreaty. His eyes were fixed on the accused.
“Ailyss Quinlan,” continued the Captain, “according to the Law of the Pacific, your just punishment is to be hanged from the rigging.”
Keenan emitted a scream, and suppressed it with both hands over his mouth. Paean gasped and turned around again to glare accusingly at Federi. Some trial! And he had said there would be no killing!
“Wait it out,” he whispered.
Wait it out? Paean peered at Keenan, who was hanging onto Ailyss’ hand as though this could stop his sister from being ripped away by death. The boy looked as though he’d fall over any moment now. Tears were streaming down his face. Paean clenched her jaw. Captain was torturing an innocent! And Federi was doing nothing about it! Federi had lied to her! She saw how Shawn put his hand on Keenan’s shoulder, trying to console the little guy.
“Permission to speak, sir,” said Wolf, struggling to his feet. He wasn’t yet used to crutches. Rhine Gold and Ronan moved to his sides to help him stand on the rocking deck. Paean made an involuntary move towards him and felt the Romany’s hand tweak her shoulder. She dashed Federi a glance – and saw the Abyss in his eyes. Oh hell!
“Speak up, Svendsson. And sit down!” commanded the Captain.
Obediently Wolf sat down again.
“Captain, Ailyss was under severe pressure. She was only trying to prevent the Rebellion from murdering her brother. Please, Captain, these are mitigating circumstances. The child is the only relative she has in the world. May I suggest that quite a few of us might have acted the same?”
“Indeed,” said Lascek scornfully. “Would you, Svendsson? In which way does this absolve her from punishment?”
“Captain, I believe, with the threat to her brother gone, she won’t have any reason to try anything like that again. She was acting under extreme duress. And also she failed, which proves that subconsciously she sabotaged her own actions.”
Lascek nodded, scowling. “Anything further?”
“Captain, I work alongside Ailyss and she is a good and quiet colleague who never complains or gives any kind of trouble.”
“In fact she never opens her mouth at all,” Federi whispered behind Paean.
“She also does an excellent job,” added Wolf. “She’s quick, Captain. Highly intelligent.”
He waited for Marsden to write all that down.
“That’s why she was working for intelligence,” muttered Federi.
“So on the whole, Captain,” concluded Wolf, “she would be a real asset to keep aboard.”
“As a mascot, dangling from the rigging,” said Federi under his breath. Paean turned and shot him a withering glance. What was wrong with the man? There was that horrible darkness again…
“Point taken, Svendsson,” said the Captain. “I also note that you’ve defied doctor’s orders again. Did you clear it with the medic?”
“Captain, it’s a matter of life and death.” He peered over to Paean. She nodded resignedly.
“Don’t worry, Wolf,” she called across, rolling her eyes. “I need the practice anyway!”
The Captain frowned. “This is serious, Miss Donegal! Anyone else?”
“Yes, Captain.” Ronan spoke up, flinching at the murderous look Lascek threw him. “I believe if we execute Ailyss, we rob Keenan of the only mother he knows. I can’t imagine…” he trailed off. The loss of his own mother was still too raw.
“Captain, please, you can’t do that to Keenan,” pleaded Shawn. “Poor Keenan!”
“Permission to speak, Captain,” Paean piped up. She had to clear her throat first. It took guts to confront the Captain right after being ruffled.
“You may speak, Miss Donegal.”
“Captain,” said Paean. “There isn’t a single one of us who doesn’t have some sort of troubled background. Och, okay, sorry, Reinhold.” She glanced at the tall German who was looking stricken. He didn’t qualify to be a pirate, in Paean’s books?
“The rest of us are basically vermin,” she said. “All of us somehow broken, the fallout of society. You’ve put us together and rescued each of us. You keep us safe and protect us, and we keep each other safe and protect each other. We are pirates. We break rules and laws. But we stick together. We on the Solar Wind are a family. I can’t imagine executing one of my own family, no matter what they have done. Keenan wouldn’t be the only one to lose Ailyss. It would be like executing my sister. Sir, if you are to condemn Ailyss to death, I’m afraid I can’t be part of the Solar Wind family anymore either.” Her voice had started shaking and she backed down. “That was all,” she added softly.
“Well spoken,” whispered Federi next to her ear. “But go easy on Rhine Gold!”
“Why? He’s a hypocrite!”
“Miss Donegal,” said the Captain gravely, “this is no child’s play. Ailyss attempted to murder your whole Solar Wind family. The crime demands a life!”
“A life?” Paean’s back straightened. “Captain, she didn’t succeed! Nobody died!”
“This time, Paean Donegal.”
&nb
sp; “She won’t try it again,” said Paean heatedly. “I’ll guarantee it!”
Federi’s left hand tightened significantly on her shoulder.
“How do you propose to guarantee it, Miss Donegal?” asked the Captain scathingly. “Are you going to pledge your own life that she’ll behave? If she tries something like that again, we execute you both?”
Drawn-out seconds. Paean narrowed her eyes at the Captain, trying to work out what he’d just said.
“There is such an option?” she asked. And saw her own little brother gasp, and her older brother half-rise to his feet.
“Don’t do it!” Federi warned quietly, behind her.
“There is,” said the Captain with an enigmatic smile, watching her. “In the Law of the Pacific, you can pledge your life for someone else’s.”
“Fine, then let’s consider that a deal, Captain,” said Paean. That grip on her shoulder got painful.
“Unless you are a minor,” completed Radomir Lascek.
She felt more than heard Federi exhale behind her and saw how her two brothers came back to life again, too.
“Then again we are pirates,” the Captain added with a malicious smile. “So to conclude, the Donegals and Mr Svendsson are agreed on letting Ailyss live. Anyone else?”
“Sir, I don’t believe executing Ailyss is an option,” said Rhine Gold emotively. “She’s one of us! We can help her become a crewmember and escape her former employers.” He took a deep breath. “Captain, it won’t be necessary for Paean to pledge her life. We’ll look after Ailyss. We won’t allow her to get dangerous again! We’ll supervise her.”
“That’s why you ought to go easy on the bloke,” whispered Federi. She nodded. “And he peels a mean potato,” added the gypsy cook quietly. Paean grinned.
“Uh-huh,” said Lascek. “It’s been recorded, Mr Schatz. And how do the older crewmembers feel?”
“Divided, Captain,” said Sherman. “Doc and I feel that she should be put ashore in the next port. With her brother.”
“And the others? They want the humane option?”
“Captain,” said Sherman with a sigh, “that is the humane option. Dr Jake is withholding his opinion. He feels that we are losing a highly valuable nuclear technician, either way. As for Jonathan…”
“My concern is for your crew,” said Marsden coolly. “Captain, you know where I stand.”
Paean heard Federi draw a breath through his teeth. She glanced back at him. He looked angry.
“Captain,” said Dr Jake hesitantly, “if there were a way of keeping her aboard without executing her… keeping her and Keenan safe from the Unicate and the Rebellion…”
“So they’ll hunt the Solar Wind to get to Ailyss?” asked the Captain with a cryptic smile.
“Och, they’re hunting the Solar Wind anyway!” The retort was out before Paean could stop herself. That hand on her shoulder tweaked her again. The Captain glared at her.
“She’s a good technician,” said Dr Jake. “Putting her ashore would be counterproductive. She might be forced into moving against us again. Besides, Captain, she knows nothing of your plans! There’s no way she could have betrayed them to the Unicate because they weren’t discussed in any way since before Hamburg! And she’ll have scant incentive to leak anything now! She’s not stupid! She knows which side her bread is buttered!”
“I hear you, Dr Jake,” said the Captain. “And what do you say, Federi?”
“Nothing,” said Federi, withdrawing his hand from Paean’s shoulder and folding his arms. She glanced at him in disbelief.
“Not taking a stance?” asked Lascek, obviously surprised too.
“Captain, what would you have me say?” asked Federi with a smile. “I’m surprised you haven’t hanged me from the rigging yet.”
There was a shocked silence.
“Very well,” said the Captain, a slow smile spreading across his face. “Thank you, Tzigan. Point taken. I’ll be reviewing all of this. Meeting adjourned. Marsden, please come to the bridge.”
The Captain and his First Mate departed to the bridge.
On the deck all sorts of commotion broke out.
“Why didn’t you tell him everything?” Wolf shot at Ailyss. “You may have dug your own grave!”
Ailyss sat down. For the first time there were tears in her eyes. She was shaking her head.
“I had no idea you all liked me such a lot!” She looked up. “Specially you, Paean!” She was crying now. “It may have been pointless,” she added, “but it meant a lot to me, believe me. Thanks, you all, for trying.”
Paean put her arms around Ailyss. “ ‘s not pointless!” she retorted. “We’ve changed his mind! ‘s only Mr Marsden who’s being contrary. The rest all want you to live!”
Ailyss smiled at her through the tears and shook her head.
“Paean, he only wanted to know how much resistance he’ll get,” she explained. “The Law of the Pacific says I’m going to die. That’s all there is to it.”
“Then again we’re pirates,” said Paean.
“The Law of the Pacific is just a nice way of saying, the way it’s done on a pirate ship,” replied Ailyss.
Paean let go of her. “I’ll make you coffee.” She escaped.
“Little sister!” commented Ailyss softly after her. Fancy her finding the only loophole in the Pirate Law! But she doubted that Paean’s magnanimous gesture was going to sway anything. Captain had said it: The girl was a minor.
Paean moved towards the hatch. And walked into a human barricade. Of one.
“I could strangle you myself,” snarled Federi. “What the hell did you think you were doing, girl?”
“Rescuing my friend,” she shot back.
The Tzigan put a hand on her shoulder – an unmistakable, commanding left hand with a definite grip, and directed her further towards the hatch.
“Let’s make them coffee,” he suggested.
And then Ronan was blocking their way. “Leave my sister alone!”
Federi’s eyes widened in surprise and he let Paean go. She escaped down the hatch and below deck.
“Well, Donegal!” said Federi with amazement. “You do have backbone!”
“What the hell were you whispering at her throughout that whole trial?” demanded Ronan. “You put her up to this, didn’t you?”
The Tzigan shook his head. “Not on your life, Donegal! That girl is precious! Captain should be careful!” He smiled bleakly. “But you heard the Captain too,” he added. “She’s a minor. She can’t pledge.”
“ ‘Then again we’re pirates’ ,” quoted Ronan angrily. “And what the hell did you mean with your statement there – surprised he hasn’t yet hanged you?”
“That,” laughed Federi. “That was between Captain and me! He knew what I meant. Donegal, don’t dig.” He peered at the bridge. “He’s still going to call me in, too.”
“You’ll tell him that this pledge thing is off?” Ronan’s voice was wavering. Half angry still; half pleading. Federi realized that the young man had understood that he was an ally in this. Possibly the only ally who could turn things for silly, pig-headed Paean.
“Course,” he reassured Ronan. “But understand another thing, Donegal.”
Ronan waited, worried.
“You saw me take out those Sancho pirates,” said Federi.
Ronan nodded.
“I’m a pretty accurate shot, would you say,” added Federi.
Ronan nodded again, intimidated.
“How many bullets do you think I’d need for the Captain?” asked Federi.
