Elizabeth arrived on the bridge of the Catalyst. The thick forward facing glass gave a panoramic view. The murky waters outside danced with jewel tones in greens and turquoise, showing they were near the surface, the light filtered by the heavy seaweed forest which the vessel glided through. The bright lights of the command deck contrasted with the outside. Brass shone, wood gleamed, and glass sparkled, all having been polished to a high sheen. The gentle chug of the steam pistons in the back of the vessel echoed through the hull even this far forward in the massive ship.
“Why haven’t we quit this ocean jungle?” Elizabeth asked, ignoring the scowl of a crewman who thought women on board were bad luck, and a woman on the bridge was disastrous.
Zachary directed her attention to the instruments. The compass spun madly and the others seemed confounded also. “It was too late,” he said. “We had already entered the seaweed forest. To turn about without any point of reference may be worse than continuing on a present course, considering we have no way of knowing how far we would actually be turning.”
Another man glared at the lean acting Captain. With a flick of his eyes, Zachary brought him to bear. “Leftenant Simmons feels he could determine exactly when we reach a complete turnaround, but I am not willing to risk it, or risk the plants binding our propellers.”
As he spoke the ship shuddered and the helmsman shifted the gear lever, slowing the propellers and reversing them. The hull calmed as the ship’s movement stopped. With careful manipulation of the rudder and propellers, the man freed them from the grasp of the sea plants and the craft continued forward.
A few minutes later the vessel shuddered again as the propellers were once again bound by the plants. Attempts to repeat his last endeavor brought no success or freedom for the ship and crew.
“Electrify the hull,” Zachary ordered. The other crewman manned the machinery to charge the battery of conductors. The ship was a modern marvel; no expense was spared in the creation. This was no simple military submersed paddleboat, this was a piece of art that genius created and passion built. The bottom third of the submarine was various engines and power plants. The steam from propulsion was not the by product. That gaseous form of water was created from bringing seawater in through portholes, the water super-heated for steam, leaving behind salt for wide uses on the ship. The steam itself was broken down further, some sent to cooling tanks where it became drinkable water, another portion to power the movement, and another portion delivered to a very particular machine in the tail of the vessel. This device would separate the hydrogen and oxygen from each other and cycle the breathable air into the crew’s portion of the ship, and the hydrogen was stored in separate tanks for use as high power propulsion, or as a weapon in the depths of the oceans.
Turbines spun in the bowels of this creation and a steady hum could be heard as the electricity built its charge on the hull. A sudden burst and the lights dimmed and flickered for a moment. The ship jerked as it was freed from the vegetable octopus. Forward movement began again.
“We can’t use that charge too often,” Suykimo said in his quiet voice. “The ship may have power enough for a few of those, but it slows our movement, and worse… it may attract unwanted attention.”
“Get the walkers suited. Get them on the hull with the saw poles. We will do this with men,” Zachary told the First Mate without turning.
They continued to move forward at a slow pace as the men prepared to move into position. After donning deep dive suits, they filed into pressure chambers in the four corners of the ship. These were sealed from the rest of the ship and filled with water. An outer door opened and the men lumbered onto the hull. Overweight magnetic boots clung to the shell of the vessel. Each of the men had a polearm strapped to his back, but instead of the medieval weapon sort, it had a eighty centimeter serrated blade at the end of a meter and a half long pole. The men walked with care, using an two meter long steel cable with two carabiners at the end to secure themselves to metal rails that ran the length of the craft, centimeters above the hull. They would walk three meters until the first carabiner caught on the small metal arms that secured the rails to the hull, bend over to attach the second carabiner and remove the first, and continue on their way.
Elizabeth watched with concern as the men found their places. The outer lights had been activated so dangers could be seen, before the dangers saw them. Twelve total, four near the rear propeller and rudder, two for each of the dual midship rudders, two to protect the delicate instruments outside of the looking glass of the bridge, and the remaining two on the nose of the ship. Suykimo gazed into a depth finder, hoping to give the new captain more information to work with, but to no avail. Zachary watched everything, his knees bent and his body moving with the natural bounce of the ocean that you feel even when under the waves.
Elizabeth gasped and pointed as a dark silhouette undulated in the thick sea grass, winding its way towards the ship. The men outside were focused on the task of directing the seaweed away from the hull, or cutting through it before it could entangle the ship, and didn’t notice the predator of the deep. The shadow was seven meters long and moved with a deadly grace as it swam a path around the perimeter of the ship, staying just outside of the circle of light. The crew on the bridge stood and stared, trying to make out what sort of creature this was.
“Tap out the warning for the men,” Zachary said. A man jumped to fill that order. Grasping a large mallet, he slammed it against what appeared to be a gong. Rather than hanging free, it was embedded in a thick jellylike membrane. A thin sheet of water ran across the surface, keeping it moist. No noise issued in the room, but the men visible through the window stopped, as if listening. The vibration was sent through a series of organic channels in the ship and radiated outward to the hull. This system was made from an odd breed of creature that was something between a jellyfish and a sponge. They grew in huge colonies in dead coral reefs, filling every nook and cranny. They would send out waves of vibration that threw off the equilibrium of predators, and attract beneficial fish that lived in a symbiotic relationship with the colony. Suykimo had helped design the channels throughout the ship, the ciphers that now warned the men about the danger, as well as the countless other codes.
Aware of this new threat, the sailors on the hull looked around, while still dealing with the thick vegetation wall. The first man was still taken by surprise, even as his station companion pointed. The creature snaked out of the weeds with lightning speed, and the eel-like snake grasped the man in a mouth that was larger than any crocodile’s. Rows of pointed teeth snatched the man from the ship, his cable snapping taut as the beast attempted to take him. Its mouth went across his midsection, teeth showing on the other side of the man’s wide girth. The man’s companion rushed forward as fast as the magnetic shoes would allow, his cutting tool at ready. Before he could reach the other man the monster tore his meal free of the restraining cable with a sudden thrashing movement. Blood floated through the ocean water. Thin, wispy trailers, like smoke in the air, dissipated. Then the crew noticed other movements. Dozens of dark sinewy shapes glided just outside of the circle of light, attracted by the scent that their brethren had left in the water. Their movement became more excited.
“Issue the retreat. Get those men inside now,” Zachary ordered in crisp tones. The crewmen with the mallet beat out the tattoo that would bring the men back inside. In the slow motion that the sea demands man live in, the men turned and began to move to the doors. The creatures did not wait. The attack was swift and brutal as three and four monsters shot out of the shadows with swift movements. Two would focus on one man, tearing him from the ship and snapping his cable, carrying him away as they fought for mouthfuls of their meal.
The bridge vibrated as the doors in the stern and aft opened to bring the men inside. The beasts followed, tearing the men out of the safety of the interior of the ship. The captain opened the channels on the console in front of him to communicate with the waterlocks, his voice c
rackling across the speakers, “Shut those doors as soon as the last man is in!”
“Aye sir!” The frantic reply came back. The man held the announcement channel open, stopping two way communications. The bridge could hear the order repeated to the men controlling the outer doors. One man was screaming that some of the monsters had followed the last man inside the chamber. The bridge vibrated again, confirming that the order to close the doors was being followed. Other announcement channels reported that no men had made it back in alive. The terrified man that held the first channel open ordered the inner door opened as soon as the waterlock was drained, and weapons readied to kill the monster.
Zachary tried to use his direction of communication, but was blocked since the other man still had his end open. Realizing the inevitable, Zachary turned to an enlisted man. “No. Ensign, go tell that man not to open that chamber, leave the beast in it. Now!” The young man shot through the door to go pass the command on before the chamber drained and the man let the predator into the ship. They waited and listened as they watched scores of the beasts frenzy outside the window, snatching and tearing at the men they had taken.
The voice of the man crackled across the connection, ordering the door opened. The sound of the lock being spun filled the room from the speakers. A young voice came across the commotion, repeating the order he was sent to deliver. Screams began, showing he was seconds too late. The terror of the man in charge was the last noise before silence filled the room as the channel went dead.
Elizabeth shuddered and forgot to fan herself as she thought about what was going on in that hall. Her attention was torn away as Suykimo spoke. “They go for larger prey. They know the Catalyst holds food, and they are not stupid. They use the seaweed.” He did not need to point for the others to see what he meant. The beasts grabbed the tips of the florae and swam in spirals around the vessel, wrapping it in the vegetation. The plants tangled the propellers, stopping their forward movement. The monsters then began wrapping themselves around protrusions in the ship, including the large metal wheels that opened the waterlocks, convulsing and writhing. Suykimo smiled a neutral smile as he realized what was happening.
“These creatures are as smart as a squid or octopus. Look, they open our doors to get at the food inside. Fascinating,” the foreign man said. “I would suggest yellow defense again Zachary.” He used the familiar term instead of the man’s title. No one seemed to notice, showing the unspoken station of the little olive skinned man.
“Charge the batteries and prepare the hull for the Electric Tide,” Zachary said into another announcement channel. “Shut all outer portals if able. If unable, then retreat to an inner sanctum and shut the inner watertight portals.”
The light by the door began flashing yellow as they prepared for the dangerous defense. The ship hummed under their feet as the turbines charged the coils of copper wire that spiraled between the two eight centimeter thick layers of metal that created the hull. The vessel shuddered as the electricity erupted throughout the skin of the massive machine. The Catalyst shifted downward in a sudden movement as a thin layer of water around it was vaporized and the vessel dropped. The creatures wound around the extremities of the ship screamed and writhed as they tried to escape the painful death, but their muscles had already locked from the shock, trapping them and condemning them to their doom.
After fifteen seconds the newly promoted captain spoke again into the general announcement channel. “Terminate the Electric Tide and engines full speed ahead for sixty seconds, and then throttle back to exploration speed. Stations for the whole crew, we won’t be taken without expectation again.”
The crew followed orders flawlessly, acting as one with the craft that any mariner would have given his life to serve on. Many on board had given up lives to be here. Any crew member that signed onto the crew signed off his mortal life for something greater; the journey of exploration that was the Catalyst. Within ten minutes the seaweed forest thinned enough for limited visibility.
“The coral fields around Tector are challenging, but this is as challenging in its own way,” Suykimo said.
“I think the beasts that inhabit that depth are far more fearsome than the ones we have encountered here, my friend,” Elizabeth replied.
“Perhaps, but I think the inhabitants of the land in the center of this maze are much more dangerous than the great beasts of Tector.”
Zachary turned towards Suykimo, gazing at him with careful eyes. “What do you know of what we approach?”
“We approach a nest of the most dangerous game,” Suykimo said, as if everyone should know his meaning. Zachary nodded, because he did understand.
Dark, wide shapes loomed around them as the plants thinned further, the sight of land jutting up from the ocean floor, the tops of mountains creating a massive island chain, an archipelago. The seaweed grew around them still, but not as thick as before. One of the crew members gasped as they saw something. Pointing, he drew the attention of the rest of the bridge.
Lights shone through the dark green waters, not natural light of phosphorus or the glow of the angler fish or some other marine life. Rather it was the yellow glow of man-made light, and not the flickering light of a candle or gas light. Huge rectangles of open space became visible in the side of the underwater sides of the mountains, windows showing people inside, staring at them in amazement.
As they glided close to one, they could see the expressions on the faces of the people inside. One moved to a metal rectangle on the wall and lifted a smaller silver box from it and spoke into it. Though they could not hear what was said, the intensity that showed on the man’s face did not belay a feeling of welcome.
“Increase speed,” Zachary said to the helmsman. “We need to get through.” He was interrupted as the Catalyst shuddered and listed to starboard. Three small vessels sped past the larger ship, odd tentacle-like rudders spiraling behind the one-man ships, propelling them with speed and agility. Two turned in tight, controlled arcs and the third threw itself out of the water and turned in midair, diving back into the water and speeding towards the Catalyst once again.
The ship was equipped with spring and air harpoons, depth charges, the Electric Tide, and a split nose on the front for ramming, but had no weapons that could match the speed and agility of these submersibles. But these new machines were vastly superior to the Catalyst, and the Catalyst was the most advanced any crew member had ever seen, far surpassing anything any government had ever commissioned.
“If these peoples have those ships, they use energy. If they use energy, they have places that generate it and probably use the sea to power them. Find that and initiate the Spire Shift,” Suykimo said, his calm unbroken as if he expected this very thing to happen.
“They are just afraid,” Elizabeth said, her eyes glazed as she used what she called her female intuition. “They have been hidden in the Devil’s Triangle for a long time, and they will protect their anonymity. They will not let us return the way we came.”
With a glance Zachary took in both sources of information, and with the same swiftness he acted with in every circumstance he said, “Surface. Use the array to find the strongest power source. Communications you will see if we have any way to tie into that source. Helm, you will steer us towards it at top speed.”
The ship lurched as the speed increased and rose in the murky waters. The viewing glass drained of the water as the massive ship broke the surface of the waves. The sky darkened as the clouds rolled in the sky with unnatural speed and purpose.
“They control the very winds,” Suykimo observed. “This is why water and air ships alike have disappeared in these waters for as long as legend and myth remembers.”
The smaller ships easily kept pace with the Catalyst, peppering it with their weapons. The ship shook but did not take on any substantial damage. Soon the small one man vessels fell back. Zachary warned the crew to be aware and watch for enemies. Within moments they appeared, but not in the sea as expected
.
“There!” Elizabeth was the first to see them. She pointed to the air. From the black clouds came ships of similar design to the water vessels that had attacked them. Small wings jutted from the sides and the tentacle-like rudders were shorter. Lightning from the clouds struck these flying vessels and they channeled it as bolts towards the Catalyst.
“Charge the Electric Tide,” Zachary barked, “then reverse the turbines to bring the charge in and direct it to the engines.”
“Sir,” the gunner in charge of the Electric Tide said, “the ship is not designed to do that. With all due respect, it is theoretically possible, but could burn out the engines. We have no way to dissipate the excess energies.” The man encountered a hard gaze from the captain. “Aye, aye sir,” the seaman said as he relayed the command through his announcement channel to the engineers below.
The ship hummed as it absorbed the charges from the aerial attack. The engines began to growl, the whole ship shaking as it gained speeds it was not accustomed to and the angry waves battered her. The airships had retreated after seeing their weapons had little effect.
“Energy source detected,” said the man at the communications array.
“Steer us towards it helmsman,” Zachary said quietly.
“Walls sir, dead ahead,” the helmsman announced nervously, “they seem to have openings we can pass through, but we may become trapped.”
“Do it,” said the captain. “Prepare the fore harpoons with depth charges.”
“They only use natural sources of energy and weapons,” Suykimo noted aloud. Zachary nodded his acknowledgement.
They passed through an opening in a wall, and banked hard to port as an island appeared in front of them. They maneuvered between another opening and another. The waves, winds, and currents pushed them towards the walls and slowed their movement. The next opening that appeared had a gate across it that was just closing.
“Fire the harpoons when in range gunner,” Zachary said with calm. He was in his element, and was poised on the balls of his feet, as if in personal combat. The ship had become his body, and he spoke as if it was a thought sent to his limbs.
The harpoons fired, hitting the wall and exploding. The ship rocked with the blast and the wall crumbled. The opening that appeared was not wide enough for the ship though.
“Ram it,” the captain said. The Catalyst shuddered as it crashed into the damaged barrier.
“We are within one hundred yards of the power source,” said the crewman monitoring the energy source.
“Prepare the Spire Shift and steer for the energy source.”
Steel nets appeared in front of them, being drawn taut, creating a more effective barrier than the walls and gates they had passed moments before.
“Bring the Electric Tide to maximum, fire the harpoons, and ram the net.”
“Sir,” interjected a crewman, “even if we break through, the tatters of those nets will bind our propellers.”
“I know,” Zachary said.
The ship launched forward, explosive harpoons leading the way. An explosion rocked the Catalyst as she hit the nets moments after the charges.
“Initiate the Spire Shift.”
The vessel groaned with speed, its electrified hull and specialty propulsion kicking into action simultaneously. It rocked hard to port and began to turn on its side as the nets turned its nose. A blinding blue flash made the crew avert their eyes and then all was calm.
The storm clouds were gone. It was night and the Catalyst stuttered as an explosion sounded from the aft of the vessel. The engines stopped. The power flickered and the ship went dark as power was lost from the machines on the bridge.
“Get a navigator and sextant topside,” Zachary said. “We need our location.”
“Sir?” the helmsman asked. “The instruments show, well, nothing is right. Not even the stars. Where are we?”
“A new world, or perhaps an old one. Only time will tell.”
The Adventures of Friends on the Road to Manhood
Aetheric Elements: The Rise of a Steampunk Reality Page 62
