The Wolf Itself (The Kestrel Chronicles Book 1)

by mikel evins

  “This is all too much for me,” he said.

  I stepped close and whispered over a private link, “Should we clear out the crowd and let you rest?”

  “No,” he answered the same way, “I’m all right.”

  Someone in the crowd shouted, “What will you do next?”

  “Next?” he said. “I’ll have breakfast, I suppose.”

  More laughter.

  “But that’s not really what you meant to ask, is it? Well, I think I should let Esgar Rayleigh answer your question. We’ve been discussing a few possibilities, and I think it’s his place to let you know what we’ve come up with.”

  Esgar stepped to Doctor Yaug’s side to another round of applause. He held up his hands until the crowd quieted.

  “I can’t tell you how much your support means to me,” he said. “I don’t have to tell you it’s been tough adjusting to the loss of my father, Milos Rayleigh. He’s a tough act to follow, in more ways than one.”

  “For a while there, it looked like Rayleigh Shipping might die with him, but it hasn’t, thank goodness. That’s all down to you, all of you. I tell you, there have been times—many times—when I just didn’t think I could go on. Jaemon and I lost our father. We inherited a heavy burden of debt with the company. Our contracts and routes were in disarray, not to mention our accounts.”

  “I made it—we made it—because of all of you.”

  He turned toward me and took me by one arm. He tugged me forward next to him.

  “Our new medical officer, Lev, said something to me that I want to repeat to all of you. You all know how many people we’ve lost over the past few months, and I can’t blame them for wanting to leave. We were in tough shape. It must have looked like we weren’t going to make it. But you know what? We will make it. And you know why? Because you, the people in this room, haven’t given up on us.”

  He looked at me.

  “Jaemon and I were wondering just how we should introduce Doctor Yaug to all of you. Lev got it right. He said, ‘just show them.’ Show you who and what the Doc is, he meant. Show you what he did, what sacrifice he made for our sake, for the crew of the Kestrel. Trust you all to see things the right way.”

  He stopped and looked around the room.

  “I’m ashamed I didn’t think of that myself. Of course he was right. That was exactly the right thing to do, and today all of you have proved it. I’m so proud of Rayleigh Shipping right now.”

  He let go of me and stepped forward, clasping his hands in front of his chest.

  “So let me tell you what we have planned.”

  He turned a little and reached an arm toward Yaug, who was standing tall, with the black blanket still draped over him.

  “It turns out that while Doctor Yaug was sleeping in his creche for a hundred years, his investment accounts were working for him. He went into the creche a well-to-do professional specialist, and he came out a wealthy person. Well, what does a wealthy person do with his money? He invests it! So we talked it over.”

  He began to pace back and forth, hand still clasped in front of him.

  “The Doc proposed an investment. A big investment. He wants to buy into Rayleigh Shipping in a big way. Take a seat on our board of governors, participate in the business, and everything.”

  He stopped and looked at them all, wide-eyed.

  “Apparently, he’s as impressed with Rayleigh Shipping as I am.”

  The crowd laughed and clapped.

  “So, you might ask, what does Doctor Yaug get in exchange for all of this? I guess I should let him tell you about that. Doctor?”

  The black blanket-covered blob glided forward next to Esgar, then adjusted itself up and down. There were no gasps this time, just laughter and more applause.

  Esgar picked up a corner of the blanket.

  “You want that off, Doc?” he said.

  “No, leave it,” Yaug said. “It’s a present. I think I’ll wear it. I’m starting to like it.”

  The crowd laughed and clapped again.

  “I spoke to my former employers. They were very kind, but it seems they don’t currently have any open positions for employees who’ve been out of action for a hundred years.”

  There was scattered laughter.

  “They did offer me a nice pension and a rank as a reserve officer in the Security Service. And now I’m officially allowed to acknowledge that a hundred years ago I was an agent of a covert section of that office."

  There was more scattered applause.

  “I was also a scientist. My business was to discover all I could about unusual phenomena, to catalog them for further study by the Institutes of Research. The need for that kind of work has not diminished in the past century. If anything, there’s more demand for it than ever. I’m pleased to say that I’ve made encouraging contacts with the public arms of the Service and with the Institutes of Research, and have already secured two contracts to gather data for them. In short, my friends, Rayleigh Shipping is about to become Rayleigh Services. We’re going into the scientific survey business together.”

  Esgar said, “That means learning some new skills and hiring some new people. It means refitting Kestrel, taking our other ships out of lease, and investing a substantial amount in upgrading and expanding our physical plant.”

  He looked around at all of the faces, some of them looking surprised or anxious.

  “I don’t want you to worry,” he said. “Nobody is losing a job. On the contrary, I’m going to ask you all to recommend new people for us to talk to. We’re going to need them. We’re going to be making some new hires.”

  “We’re also going to be offering more training opportunities for everyone currently on staff. If you’re hoping to gain more marketable skills, Rayleigh is going to be a great place to be. We’re going to grow, and we’re going to invest in our people.”

  Jaemon stepped in close and said, “And better coffee. We’re getting better coffee. Doctor Yaug already sprang for new equipment and a better supplier.”

  The crowd laughed and began to applaud. Another chant started, but this time it was “Coffee! Coffee! Coffee!”

  People were grinning and patting each other on the back. Here and there individuals stepped from the crowd and went to Yaug, bowed and spoke to him. He stood under his blanket and greeted each one politely, exchanging words of appreciation and encouragement with them. He answered questions and asked after those he had met while he was recovering.

  I looked over at Esgar. He caught my eye and grinned again. It was more than I’d seen him smile in all the time I’d known him. I went over and stood next to him.

  “What do you think?” I said.

  He shrugged.

  “It worked.”

  He grinned at me again and slapped me on the back.