by John Ringo
He found himself getting overwhelmed again and took his own advice, grabbing a corner of the net as Jason spread it out.
“Right,” Jason said, finally. “We’ll just head into the school. When I give the word, Herzer and Elayna just try to hold steady and Pete and I will swing it around.” He looked at the wall of fish of every conceivable size and gulped some water. “Follow me.”
Pete and Jason headed straight into the baitball, through the wall of predators. Herzer saw one yellowfin tuna that was bigger than Bast slam into Pete as he neared the mackerel but Pete was merely buffeted for a moment and kept on heading in. Jason was at the top of the net and Herzer could see clearly when he entered the baitball because he simply disappeared.
The net in their way immediately affected the mackerel and a large slice of them, ten meters or so long and a few meters deep, turned aside and formed their own ball as predators slashed into them. Herzer tried to pull the net to a halt at the edge of the main ball but it was wriggling madly in his hands. A tuna slammed dead into his side and both of them rebounded from the impact, shaken. He stuck a hand out and jammed it into the momentarily drifting tuna’s gills and was rewarded by a panicked frenzy for his troubles. The tuna, which was not much smaller than he and probably weighed more, thrashed against his side, dragging him off in an upward spiral. He got his hand free and grabbed the net with flesh and metal hands, striving with all his might to kick his way out into the open water. By this time he had been dragged fully into the mackerel and their flashing bodies were all he could see. They swarmed all around him, butting into his side, face, legs, like a thousand maddened cats. Suddenly his head crested the water and try as he might he could not get the net to budge; the weight of the fish in it, their frenzied fighting, Pete and Jason pulling on it, all combined to simply tow him through the water.
Suddenly a talon shot out of the water and grasped the net by his hand. He let go as Joanna took over, dragging the net, and a mass of fish, out of the main school. He gratefully swam out of the frenzy and into the comparative peace alongside.
The net was a gill net, long and relatively short, not the purse seine that would have been ideal for the purposes. But by tying it on the bottom and ends and letting it float to the surface they had gathered a huge quantity of mackerel, and several relatively small and confused tuna.
“You know,” Joanna said. “Just when we need that damned ship.”
Jason was pulling mackerel out with his hands, mostly those stuck in the net, and handing them to the delphinos. He pulled one out for himself and expertly stripped it of its skin, then tore into the flesh. Joanna dipped her muzzle into the net and caught a couple more along with one of the small tuna.
“Tuna,” she said after she swallowed. “Tastes just like chicken.”
“The question is,” Herzer asked, floating at the surface, “did this work better than, say, diving in and grabbing them by hand or mouth?”
“Oh, yeah,” Jason replied. He dipped under the water and blatted at the delphinos.
“Better,” Herman said. “Less energy. Better.”
“But we have to get the net back to town,” Herzer replied.
“Eat fish, fill net, go town,” Herman replied. “Fish fresh.”
“Yeah,” Jason mused. “They’ll live in the net, so they’ll be fresh when we get back. And they can stay in the net for a day or so, except for getting caught in the weave.”
Herzer was watching Chauncey try to catch the big tunas. He had tried to snatch them on the run, but they were just too fast. Finally, he struck out with his half-folded wing and managed to temporarily stun one, which he quickly picked off. Others followed his example and the wyverns were quickly replete with fish.
“They learn,” Herzer muttered.
“Oh, yeah,” Jerry said. He and the others had swum over to the floating net, from which the delphinos were now stripping the gill-caught fish. “They’d never learn anything if it wasn’t by example. When one sees something that works, it copies it. That’s half of the way that they’re trained.”
“That’s unusual in the natural world,” Herzer pointed out.
“They’re not natural,” Jerry replied with a shrug. “All this swimming is fun, but this water is damned deep and we’re way out here. How long are we going to stay?”
Herzer hadn’t really noticed the depth, concentrating on the problem, but he realized they were out over the deeps for sure. The water was a deep, rich blue and the light from the sun formed a cone fading into the depths, his shadow in its midst.
“Dragons are fed, delphinos are fed, mer-dudes and dudettes are fed,” Herzer said, tearing his eyes away from the attraction of simply going down and down. “I’d say we fill the net and head for home.”
“Works for me,” Jerry replied. “I’m getting tired of paddling.”
“Try to get the dragons over to you,” Herzer said. “They float. In the meantime, we have to try to fill this thing again.”
The second time they left the bottom tied and swam the net, with both ends open, into the school. It quickly filled with mackerel, and in this case several very irate, very large, yellowfin tuna. They tied the top and end for good measure, then started dragging it back towards town.
The dragons were content to scull along on the surface and their riders, including Bast and Herzer, took that method of transportation. The mer switched off with the delphinos, who had stubby fingers on the ends of their pectoral fins, dragging the squirming net back to town. So it was a group of very tired, but triumphant, hunters that returned just as the sun was setting with enough protein, on the fin moreover, to last the town for a few days.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Jason, Pete, Antja, Elayna and the weapons maker, Jackson, had dragged themselves up on land to join the landsmen for a good old fish fry. The fillets of mackerel had been wrapped in seaweed and left to cook on the coals while they feasted on lobster tails, sliced into cutlets and spitted over the fire. This was the group’s share, and maybe a bit more, from the bags the girls had returned with.
“The question is,” Jason said, around a mouthful of hot lobster, “can we do this without the dragons?”
“If the baitball is nearer the town,” Herzer replied, juggling one of the cutlets from hand to hand to cool it. “If you can’t swim out fast enough yourself, you can ride on the backs of the delphinos.”
“The problem was always getting enough back to town,” Jackson said. He was a short, burly mer-man with black hair and tail and the only one that Herzer had seen with a beard. “With nets that’s fixed.”
“Nets fix a lot of things,” Pete said. “Nets, lobster pots, grouper traps, long lines. We can use them all.”
“Only if we can get Bruce to go along,” Jason pointed out. “He’s death on commercial harvesting.”
“He’s going to find slow going fighting that battle,” Antja said, popping a cutlet into her mouth. “This is the first time we’ve been well fed since the Fall. And while picking lobsters out one by one is fun when it’s a game, I’d much rather go pick up filled traps. These tails took most of the day to round up.”
“You can trade for all of those things,” Edmund pointed out. “You might even be able to find a source for stainless steel. I doubt you’ll find one for the bronze. But it’s going to be slow going without some sort of support.”
“We hear you,” Jason said. “We’ve got the picture. The problem is that if we ally with you, we’re New Destiny’s enemies. And we have to consider that, carefully.”
“You’re already their enemies,” Herzer replied. “They hate Change. They may have allied with the orcas, but that’s a marriage of convenience. If they win, you can bet that their first action will be to round up their so-called allies and put them through a Change of their making.”
“The ocean is big,” Antja said.
“But places where you can birth your young are not so widely found,” Daneh interjected.
“What?” Herzer as
ked.
“What?” the mer-folk all said at once.
“Who told you that?” Jason snapped.
“Someone who needed a diagnosis,” Daneh replied mildly. “One that, if they hadn’t gotten it, would have led inevitably to the death of the child in question.”
“The yellow baby,” Antja said.
“Correct,” Daneh replied. “A simple case of jaundice that was easily corrected. But there are damned few trained doctors left in the world, and for sure you won’t have access to them. That is something else that we can give you no one else can. And there’s more.”
“Oh?” Jason said. “What?”
“You know how bloody vulnerable you are,” Edmund replied. He had obviously been talking to his wife. “We can provide the guards that can ensure your security.”
“So we’re just supposed to hand over the care of our children to you?” Jackson said. “That’s a pretty huge leap of trust.”
“It’s not like you have a lot of choice,” Edmund replied. “We’re not going to be the last people to find out about it. You have to get guards somewhere.”
“Why should we trust you?” Jason asked. “Why you as opposed to someone else?”
“Would you trust me?” Herzer asked.
Jason thought about it for a moment then nodded. “Yeah, you I’d trust.”
“How about someone that I said could be trusted even more unreservedly than me?” Herzer asked. “Someone to train and command the guard force? We’d draw them from our best soldiers, each of them with experience.”
“Gunny?” Edmund asked.
“He’s getting a little long in the tooth even for the Academy,” Herzer said. “But he’d be just the person to guard whatever you’re talking about. And I can’t imagine a better retirement spot than down here. We could cycle the Lords through on rotation. I think that most of them would scramble for the spot.”
“Station a group of dragon-riders down here as well,” Jerry said. “We’ve got the wyverns for it, but they’ll have to be moved east and brought down on carriers. And we need more trained riders.”
“If you ally with us, we’ll establish a base,” Edmund said. “A permanent station. There will be a permanent guard force that can watch over your birthing caverns. Hell, build something less makeshift; from what Daneh told me that place is a deathtrap. Probably not here, I’d prefer someplace more accessible. But we can do it.”
“Why?” Jason said. “What is worth all that trouble and expense?”
“We need you, the delphinos even more, against the New Destiny forces,” Edmund said. “And, hell, Herzer’s right. Guards will give their eyeteeth for the posting. Especially in winter.”
“Bimi’s not the greatest place in winter,” Pete pointed out. “Winds from the north turn it into an icebox from time to time.”
“It’s a hell of a lot better than Raven’s Mill,” Rachel replied with a grin.
“Would you have to trust us?” Edmund asked. “Yes. But we will be trusting you, in turn, to give us good information on the Destiny forces. And to be willing to attack them if it comes to it.”
“Well, I have to admit, you’ve convinced me,” Jason said. “But it’s Bruce you have to convince.”
“No,” Edmund replied. “I just have to convince enough of the mer that I’m right and he’s wrong.”
“I don’t know that I want to go there,” Jackson interjected. “Bruce has a lot of supporters who are going to follow him even if it’s the wrong idea and they know it. But we’ve survived by sticking together.”
“That’s what the mackerel said,” Edmund replied, scooping out one of the fish and unwrapping it from its seaweed. “Right up until they got eaten.”
* * *
When Bruce, inevitably, found out, he was furious.
“I cannot believe that someone showed you the birthing cavern!”
“I’m a doctor,” Daneh said, coldly. “There was a sick baby. He’s probably going to get well now. He wouldn’t have if they hadn’t shown me.”
“So to save one life they’ve threatened us all!”
“What threat?” Edmund said. “Seriously. You go on and on about all the history that you’ve studied, but I guarantee that I know it better than you. I know exactly what hostages those women and children make, but they’re hostages already!”
“What?” several in the group said.
The discussion was taking place in the middle of the square. For once, thanks to the net full of mackerel and grouper dropped onto the town by returning dragons, there was enough to eat and leisure to gather and discuss the latest crisis.
“Your birthing problems are always going to be your greatest weakness,” Edmund said. “A weakness you can’t control without allies on the surface, allies you can trust unreservedly. There’s no way, for example, to change out hostages. Humans, without breath masks, cannot survive underwater. Babies certainly cannot. So you can’t force anyone who guards you to give you hostages in return. So, sooner or later, you’re going to have to find allies to guard your babies, allies that you trust. Let me ask you this, would you ever, in your wildest dreams, trust New Destiny to guard them?”
From the mutterings from the crowd the answer was clear but Mosur had to pipe up.
“So you’re saying we should trust you?”
“Yes,” Edmund said. “With more than that. We’ll establish a fleet base somewhere in the islands, probably near the Bimi chain. We’ll rotate through our finest soldiers, the Blood Lords, Herzer is one, to guard your children. We’ll establish a power shield so that if New Destiny strikes, the children will be shielded. Face it, we’re the good guys. I know well what horrors are possible in war. But we guard against them. All of our beliefs, all of our philosophy, say that if we undertake this trust, we will guard it with our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor. And there are only two choices, us or New Destiny.”
As he said this shadows began to fall over the reef and a pod of orcas passed over the square. They started to circle and the largest detached himself and drifted over the gathering.
“So, landie, you say that our brethren should trust you tailless landsmen, do you?” the orca said, drifting to a stop. He paused and rolled one eye at Bruce the Black. “Etool Shanol,” the orca said, bowing slightly. “Ambassador from New Destiny.”
“Oh, bloody hell,” Herzer muttered.
* * *
“We had a ship with us, carrying provisions to help you in your need,” the orca continued. “But it was brutally waylaid by a ship from the so-called Freedom Coalition and burned, killing everyone on board.”
“I’m sure that they approached the, effectively unarmed, carrier with parley flag flying and all good intentions,” Edmund replied, dryly. “I’m sure they didn’t simply open fire as soon as they were in range.”
“We are on a mission of peace,” Shanol replied. “Why ever would they attack your craft? So you see the lies that the Freedom Coalition spreads,” he said, pulsing the sonar loudly. “They ask you to trust them; I suppose they ask for your support. While all that New Destiny asks is that you remain neutral. We have no need of your support; we orcas as well as other sentients of the ocean support New Destiny. As its name implies, it is the destiny of the world for it to grow and prosper. Peacefully, if possible. But the so called Freedom Coalition has thus far prevented it, attacking our leaders at the last peaceful meeting of the Council, so in fear of the historical inevitability of New Destiny that they stooped to violence. They always stoop to violence.”
“If the triumph of New Destiny was so inevitable,” Edmund replied, “Celine would not have introduced deadly poisons into the meeting. Nor would Paul be attacking us at every turn, building an invasion fleet, gathering forces on his coast. You could just sit back and let historical inevitability take its toll.”
“The people of Norau suffer under their tyrannical rule of an hereditary aristocracy, Duke Edmund,” the orca replied, nastily. “It is the duty of New Destiny to fr
ee them from their feudal bondage.”
“The people of Norau voted upon the constitution,” Edmund replied, tiredly. “Groups that have joined since have joined through plebiscites. We do not conscript soldiers, Change people horribly. We do not refer to the Changed as ‘abominations.’ ”
“So you say, Duke Edmund, but I do not see these people here. I see a duke and his family.”
“I am one of those ‘people,’ ” Herzer responded, hotly. “I chose that life over yours, because I’ve seen the evil that comes wherever New Destiny touches! I will fight you with every ounce of my strength. With my last breath, I will curse you!”
“Ah, yes,” the orca replied, smiling as only an orca can smile. “His family and his chosen lapdog. I trust that Mistress Daneh is recovering from her ordeal.”
Herzer was halfway across the square before he felt arms holding him back. He struggled for a moment then shook them off and paused, panting.
“You finny bastard,” the lieutenant replied. “If it’s the last thing I do I’ll see your bird-picked carcass floating on the surface.”
“So you see the inherent peacefulness of the Freedom Coalition,” Shanol replied to the group. “We send peaceful orcas, water dwellers, like you. And an unarmed freighter that is brutally waylaid and sunk. The Coalition sends an armed carrier, a general, and his hot-headed young lieutenant, a lieutenant that has been a party to crimes against his own people.”
This time, Herzer was able to ignore the jibe.
“My demons are my own, fish-face,” he said. “But at least I control them, not let them run at the head of the pack.”
“Pod, young man, pod,” the orca sighed. “So, you see the truth of the choice. The violent philosophies of the Freedom Coalition, whose stated aim is to take over the world and rule it as they see fit. Or simple neutrality and protection from them by aid of New Destiny.”
