Seaswept (Seabound Chronicles Book 2)

by Jordan Rivet

  “Esther, isn’t it? You seem to be the ringleader. Come with me. The rest of you stay out here. You too, Luke.”

  Esther tried to give Zoe and Cally a reassuring nod, even as fear beat in her veins. She stepped over the raised threshold and followed Rawlins inside.

  Chapter 12—Captain and Mate

  The bridge was surprisingly cramped, given the size of the ship. The instruments were basic, and rust had infected the cold metal walls in man-sized patches. Condensation coated the forward windows. A man and woman turned away from a deeply creased chart when Rawlins and Esther entered. Both wore green uniforms, the man’s with a star stitched in dirty golden thread on the collar. He had a boxy, weather-beaten jaw and trim gray hair.

  “Captain Alder?” Rawlins said. “This here is Esther from the Catalina, that cruiser. She has a proposition that might interest you.”

  Rawlins pushed Esther forward. The captain stared at her without expression as the ship rocked on the unsettled sea.

  Esther cleared her throat. “Um, David Hawthorne, one of our men, was kidnapped during the attack by the Calderon Group last night. He was trying to sell a revolutionary energy technology. We think the Calderon guys wanted to steal it, so they took him.”

  “What technology is this?” the woman asked sharply. Her hair was black, and her hard eyes were the same cloudy-green color as her uniform. Her nose looked like it had been broken, possibly more than once.

  “It’s a mechanical algae oil separator.”

  “Ha!” the woman barked, making Esther jump. “That idea has been around for years. He wouldn’t have made much off it. That kind of tech uses more energy than it produces.”

  “This one doesn’t,” Esther said.

  “We get crazies promising sea-shattering, energy-from-nothing whaleshit six times a year.”

  “I saw it in action myself,” Esther said. She was a little offended at the first mate’s dismissal of her system, and it gave her courage. On this at least she wasn’t out of her depth. “It produces enough biofuel to run the propulsion system on a cruise ship. Think what it would do for a smaller vessel.”

  The first mate stepped closer, tipping her head side to side like a crow. She had a strange frenetic energy, as if she was always moving a hair faster than she had to.

  “And you say the Calderon Group stole it?” she asked.

  “One of my friends heard Burns talking about it last night. We—I didn’t listen to her warning in time,” Esther said. She felt a tight squeeze of guilt as she remembered how she had dismissed Cally and Dax the night before. I could have warned him.

  Captain Alder spoke for the first time. “There was talk of this technology in the bazaar yesterday.”

  “You really don’t want the Calderon to keep that technology,” Esther said.

  Captain Alder remained expressionless, his voice steady. “I’ll decide what I do and do not want. What is it that you want?”

  “I need information about the Calderon Group: where they might have gone, their numbers, their methods,” Esther said. “And I’d like to borrow some men, if you can spare them.” If Judith and the others wouldn’t give her the help she needed, maybe she could buy it. This had to work. “David will give you the separator technology in exchange for your assistance. I’ll guarantee that.”

  “This technology is worth less than the asking price now that the Calderon Group has it.”

  “He won’t tell them how to build the system,” Esther said. “You’ll get it practically for free—and they won’t have it at all.”

  The first mate scoffed. “That’s a sweet sentiment, girl, but the Calderon Group will have no scruples about torturing it out of him. They’ll have the technology by sundown.”

  Esther’s stomach did a painful slow-motion flip. David wouldn’t be able to tell them how to build her system because, of course, he didn’t know. She couldn’t let the Harvesters learn that particular truth, or they’d never help her get David back. She focused on Captain Alder, who had barely moved since they entered the bridge.

  “Look, even if he does tell them, it’ll take time to build it,” Esther said. “I need to chase them down before they put the system in place, or I’ll never be able to catch them. If I get to him soon enough, he won’t be able to help them bang out the kinks. You, on the other hand, will end up with the separator plans, plus a cooperative and grateful tech expert. All it’ll cost is a bit of information and a few of your men.”

  “Sounds like a Calderon ploy,” the first mate said.

  “You said yourself that you’ve already heard of the technology,” Esther said, still addressing the captain. “You know it’s real, or at least that it’s too much of a risk not to take it seriously. It would make you the most powerful supplier on the sea, no question about it.”

  The first mate whispered something in Captain Alder’s ear. He remained silent. Esther wasn’t sure what else she could say. If they weren’t going to help her, she was wasting time. There were three other ships docked at the Amsterdam that she wanted to try before she set out. And she still had to tackle the problem of getting control of the Lucinda. Judith wanted to leave the Amsterdam today, and David’s position grew more precarious with each passing minute.

  Finally, Captain Alder turned back to her. “If we do this,” he said, “we’re not going to simply hand over our resources and intelligence.”

  “We have a ship already,” Esther said quickly. “She’s fast. We just need a nav— ”

  “One patrol ship won’t do it, even a nice one like Lucinda. Yes, I know about the Catalina’s new toy. We’ll retrieve the inventor in our own ships,” Captain Alder said.

  The last vestiges of control over this operation spun away from Esther like a snapped line.

  The first mate grinned, her face sharp and unfriendly. “We were already planning to go after the Calderon boys,” she said. “This attack was an act of war. Now we might get something out of it too.”

  Esther didn’t like this at all. She didn’t trust these people, but without someone who knew how the Calderon Group operated, she and the Catalinans had little chance of getting David back in one piece. She was wasting time.

  “Okay, use your ships,” she said, “but I’m coming with you.”

  “Ridiculous,” the first mate said.

  “I can guarantee that David follows the terms of our agreement, since he’s not here to make the deal himself,” Esther said.

  “This ship is no place for teenagers,” Captain Alder said.

  “I’m twenty-two,” Esther said. “You have crew younger than me. I’ll work in the engine room in exchange for passage. And I want to bring some crewmates with me.” There was no way Esther was letting Cally on this ship, but Zoe, Toni, and Anita would want to come, and perhaps they could bring some of the oilmen from the Galaxy for protection.

  “You may bring one,” the captain said.

  “But—”

  “One.”

  Captain Alder’s jaw clenched, and for a moment Esther saw a different man beneath his calm exterior. A dangerous man. His expression made her want to run all the way back to the Catalina. Then he relaxed and gave her a slow smile.

  “Looks like you have yourselves a rescue team. But understand this: I am in command. We are not your employees, nor your mercenaries. You are only here to make sure our arrangements with the inventor go as planned. We will conduct this operation in our own way.”

  “Yes, sir,” Esther said.

  “Good. We sail at 1500 hours.”

  Chapter 13—Departure

  It was still raining when Esther and Zoe boarded the Terra Firma later that afternoon. They had enlisted Anita and Toni to distract Cally while they packed up. Everyone was getting the Catalina ready to leave before sunset. The Catalinans rushed around, nerves on edge, snapping at each other in the corridors and squabbling in their cabins. They didn’t notice Esther and Zoe making their own preparations.

  “I told Cally the Harvesters were cast
ing off after dark to avoid suspicion,” Esther told Anita and Toni as they stuffed their few belongings into knapsacks in the Mermaid Lounge. “You have to keep her busy until then and make sure she’s below deck at 1500 hours.”

  “She’s gonna be furious when she finds out you’re gone,” Toni said. She was running her fingers through Anita’s short, brown hair, twisting it into tiny knots. Anita sat in front of her on the floor, quiet as ever.

  “I know,” Esther said, “but that ship is no place for her.” Esther didn’t fear Cally’s wrath as much as she feared that of Captain Alder. And Cally’s mother. “What about you two?”

  “We’re annoyed, but we get it,” Toni said.

  Esther hadn’t wanted to push their luck with the Harvesters by arguing about bringing more people aboard the Terra Firma. Anita and Toni would stay on the Catalina while Esther and Zoe made the voyage. All the Galaxians who had planned to leave now had no opportunity to seek other crews to join. Distrust was rife around the Amsterdam. They would have to sail with the Catalina again or risk being marooned without any allies. At least there were still extra crew members around to take over Esther’s duties.

  Esther had thought about taking Reggie or one of Dirk’s muscled cronies instead of Zoe for protection, but there was a good chance they would tell Simon and Judith what she was up to.

  “You’ll be back soon,” Anita said. “I have faith in you.”

  “Why are you doing this anyway?” Zoe asked. “I mean really. You were all about staying on the Catalina less than twenty-four hours ago.”

  Esther hesitated, busying herself with the straps of her pack. She wished she could keep acting on instinct without uncoiling the feelings behind her actions. That was how she had always been with David. Reacting. Pulled taut like a cable in a storm. But now she was taking direct action for him in a way she never had before. The decisiveness of it left her vulnerable. But David had done something like this for her once.

  When she didn’t answer, Zoe nudged her foot. Finally, Esther said, “I owe him. He helped me save the Catalina. We’d never have gotten to them in time without him.”

  “Is that the only reason?” Zoe asked, lifting her bag onto her shoulder. She wore a black jacket, and she had tucked her blond hair underneath a patterned scarf. When she lifted her arms to adjust the scarf, Esther spotted a small pistol tucked in Zoe’s waistband beneath her tunic. The metal was dented, but it had been polished to shine.

  “I’m repaying a debt,” Esther said. No matter how confusing her feelings were, that made things simple. She may not understand why she dropped things in David’s presence or why his absence made her feel physically sick, but she understood duty. “Hawthorne can go where he likes once we save his skin.”

  Zoe raised an eyebrow, but Esther was determined not to let the conversation get back to her and David.

  “Ready?”

  “If you are.”

  They cleared up some details with Neal and then ate a late lunch in the Atlantis Dining Hall to avoid arousing suspicion. Esther wanted to sit with her father, but Simon was absorbed in a discussion with the council at another table. He had just returned from his meeting with the rig boss. Whatever he had learned, the Catalina would still be leaving the Amsterdam later that evening. Esther considered writing her father a note to explain her departure, but she was afraid he would find it too soon and try to stop her. She’d have to rely on Toni, Anita, and Neal to fill him in at the right moment. She felt guilty for leaving him. She didn’t know whether it was the right decision, but she couldn’t just abandon David to his fate. He had helped her save the Catalina. If nothing else, she owed him.

  With Esther’s algae system now installed, her father and the Catalina would be okay for a little while. They had enough standard fuel left to take the Lucinda with them too. Esther wished she could set out in the Lucinda instead of joining the Harvesters, but she had no idea where to look for the Calderon Group—and taking the Lucinda would put even more of her friends in danger. Hopefully, she and Zoe wouldn’t be away long anyway. Every hour that passed made it less likely that they would find David in time.

  Before long, Esther and Zoe were sneaking off the Catalina and making their way across the scuffed metal of the Amsterdam platform toward the Terra Firma, packs on their backs and weapons in their belts. Esther looked back at the Catalina only once. The shimmer of the rain obscured the worst of the dents and patches, leaving only the familiar silhouette of their floating home. This journey was dangerous, and Esther knew how unlikely it was to succeed. She might never see the Catalina again. The knot that had taken up residence in her stomach the moment she discovered David missing grew harder.

  The gray-green Terra Firma waited for them beyond the cargo vessel. It was an impressive ship, perhaps 370 feet long. The sharp prow with the Harvesters’ black coral logo loomed, slick with rain. The haze obscured the broad deckhouse and lookout tower, but they were the same muted color as the hull.

  Luke and his baby-faced friend Cody met them at the gangway between the Amsterdam and the Terra Firma, clad in the same mottled-green uniforms. Water clung to Luke’s short curls.

  “All right, girls?” he said. “Cody and me are in charge of keeping you out of trouble.”

  “Who keeps you out of trouble?” Zoe said.

  “No one. That’s the beauty of this arrangement,” Luke said, giving Zoe a winning smile. “Come on. I’ll show you your bunks, then full steam ahead. We got a lead on where the Calderon boys are headed.”

  Luke led the way onto the deck of the ship, swinging his arms wide. Cody took up the rear and offered to carry their packs. Both women declined his assistance.

  Workers and equipment crowded the foredeck. They wound through the bustle toward the main deckhouse and made their way along the promenade, staying close to the upper deck to keep out of the rain. The water was still rough, but they were all used to sailing in hairy seas. They could barely see the other ships in the Coalition through the mist.

  “How many ships did the Calderon Group have here yesterday?” Esther asked.

  “There were two in port,” Luke said, “but we think a few swept in for the raid. That’s how they operate: attack from all sides and then melt away. Don’t know how they communicate so well. We never pick them up on radio.”

  “How do we know which one to chase?”

  “Beats me. But the first mate seemed pretty confident when she briefed us.”

  “What’s the first mate’s name anyway?” Esther asked.

  “It’s . . . it’s . . .” Luke turned around and walked backwards for a few paces, trailing his hand along the rough metal railing. “You know, I don’t think she has one. She was just born a fully formed first mate.”

  “Her last name is Tchaikovsky or Tchaiklusky or something,” Cody said. “That’s why no one uses it.”

  “Those aren’t even real names,” Luke said. “She’s First Mate to the likes of you and me.”

  Luke and Cody took them through a hatch and into a narrow passageway. Half the lights were out. Their steps echoed in the dimness. Narrow doors, many of them open, lined the corridor, revealing bunks stacked on top of each other inside poorly lit berths. The occupants were mostly young men, clad in a patchwork of dyed green uniforms. A handful of tough-looking women shared the cabins, their hair shorn or pulled back from their faces.

  At the end of the corridor they entered a portside cabin with a handful of empty bunks. Each bed had a thin, lumpy mattress, and the frames were rusted and brittle. There was a bucket in the corner, and a bedraggled green coat hung from a hook by the door. The rectangular porthole high on the far bulkhead was partially open, revealing the dreary sky outside. A gust of cold sea air cut into the dank cabin.

  “You can try to get extra blankets from the quartermaster, but they’re a bit tight,” said Luke.

  “Most of us sleep in everything we own to stay warm,” Cody said, fiddling with the many pockets on his jacket.

  “Do these d
oors lock?” Esther asked.

  “No, just hide your shit,” Luke said. “It’s when we’re in port that stuff walks away. Usually no one takes anything when we’re out to sea. You should be fine.”

  He grinned, showing off his wide white teeth.

  Esther was less concerned about their possessions than their safety if the Harvesters decided to turn on them.

  A bell clanged through the trawler. The crew in the corridor whooped and hollered.

  “We’re shoving off!” Cody said.

  “You should stay out of everyone’s way for now,” Luke suggested. “We’ll get you to oiling gears or something once we’re underway.”

  He and Cody headed for the corridor.

  On his way out, Luke turned and called, “Have dinner with us later. Some of the guys can be unfriendly to newcomers.”

  “Sure,” Esther said. She waited until he was well away before pulling the door closed and heaving a sigh. “Thanks for coming with me, Zoe,” she said. “I’m glad I’m not here alone.”

  “You kidding?” Zoe said. “I was dying of boredom on the Catalina. This is exactly the kind of adventure we left the Galaxy for. I mean, it’s insane, but it’s an adventure.”

  She claimed a top bunk and tossed her bag up. She seemed to have recovered a bit from earlier, when the man’s death at her hands had upset her so much. The task of rescuing David must have helped.

  Esther sat on a bottom bunk and checked underneath for a place to hide her pack. She had to shove a disintegrating bit of cardboard and a piece of tire rubber out of the way to make room for it.

  “We have to be very careful,” she said. “They were way too quick to let us chase after the Calderon Group with them.”

  “They’ve been itching to start a fight,” Zoe said, leaning against the bunk and pulling out her knife and whetstone. “They were going after the Calderon boys anyway. You just handed them a bonus. They really want your tech.”

  “It’s Hawthorne’s tech, remember? At least until we have him back,” Esther warned, lowering her voice. “As much as they want to fight the Calderon Group, their enthusiasm will evaporate faster than gasoline if they know they have the real inventor on board.”