Malspire

  Chapter Twelve

  The War Tempest was at the head of a line of six battleships and surrounded by a score of frigates. It was not a large fleet but it had a sting, and if they jumped the enemy they would certainly be able to inflict a terrible hurt upon them. The surprise would hopefully enable them to deal out the damage without taking too much themselves. It was hope and payers and wishes, great risk. So much could go wrong. In the academy, I had read of so many well planned attacks that had gone wrong. Where were the enemy? Hopefully they were just making slow progress and not gathering up more ships along the way.

  It had been over five hours since capturing the tower, time spent watching the waves, getting the wounded and prisoners down to the cells and signalling to the world that all was well. Mister Olvan was organising things down below while I kept an eye on the water. I was pleased with Olvan who was proving both competent and growing less timid as he grew in confidence. One day he might make a fine captain. Unlike me, Olvan would have to make the long and dangerous climb up the fleet rigging however. I was simply born the son of the Lord Admiral of the Imperial and Ardalrion Fleet. All I had to do was survive for a short time aboard the Sea Huntress to gain some experience and then I was made captain. It was ridiculous. Men with far more experience than me were still junior officers. There were boys with more sea in them than me, and yet there I was, captain of the Lady Ocean, fighting for the Empire with little or no clue of how to go about things. Still, we had taken the tower and that was something.

  I shook my head in disgust. So far we had been lucky. I had been lucky with the lives of my crew and ship. Luck had to count for something though, and I would be lying if I did not admit to being proud of my captaincy, proud of my ship and proud of my men.

  There was no sight of the enemy as yet, and the rebel frigate had disappeared to the north. It was now early afternoon. Jodlin was ambling about the place trying to make himself useful having taken me some bread and wine. There had been no signal from the fleet, but I had not expected any as further communication was forbidden.

  When we finally saw the stacks of smoke to the east above the cliff tops, and half an hour later the first Imperial frigates appeared at full steam, we all felt a huge sense of relief. There was still no sign of the enemy and so I could now breathe more easily. “We’ve done our duty, Jodlin.”

  “Are we joining the fleet, Captain?” asked Jodlin, ever keen for a fight.

  “I am considering it. We could leave the lectrocode officer here with some marines I suppose. The ship’s not at full strength though,” I said, annoyed at the lack of men and guns. It would be risky. We would be calling on that luck again. Will it hold?

  “Let me at them. I’ll make up for it.”

  I looked up at the man and remembered my fight with the thug. He was good in a fight, but not after a barrel of ale of course. Who was?

  “We need to better hide the Lady Ocean anyway. Let’s get back to the ship. We've done all we can here,” I said.

  The lectrocode officer complained at being left behind but I told him to shut up and do his duty. I also left four marines and told them we would return for them all within a few days. When asked what to do if the enemy showed up, I told them to lock the door and tell them to go away. I did not have a better answer. If the enemy showed up, they were doomed, but such are the choices a captain has to make. The Lady Lamient had already returned to the ship as had most of the marines and Mister Olvan. Jodlin and I where the last to leave, and as we set off, Jodlin stopped. I heard it too.

  Jodlin went to a patch of scrub and rocks and from them lifted up the tabby cat. To my amazement, the cat was alive. Its left eye was bleeding from a gash across its face, and its front right leg looked to be broken, but it was alive and cried in pain as Jodlin gently placed it in the cradle of his arms. It was too weak to fight and just lay there hurt and probably dying.

  “Poor thing. Must have fallen off the tower,” said Jodlin.

  “A resilient creature.”

  Jodlin stroked it gently. “What should I do with it?”

  “Put it out of its misery, man. A blow from your hammer will send it to whatever heavens cats go to.”

  Jodlin looked shocked. “I can’t, sir. It’s just a cat. I can’t kill it.”

  I was baffled by the man’s ability to kill men with a ruthless efficiency and yet was unable to put a wounded cat to sleep. “I’ll do it,” I said eventually, reaching for my gutting knife. Jodlin turned to protect the cat. I looked up at the man and shrugged my shoulders. “Do what you want with him. He’ll be dead soon enough anyway.”

  Jodlin took the cat back to the ship and begged the surgeon to have a look at it. Doctor Eebel was reluctant to waste time on an animal but Jodlin’s pleading eventually convinced the doctor to have a look, but only after the men were seen to. I hoped that the cat would live. Somehow it was suddenly important. As soon as the cat was aboard the Lady Ocean, it was part of the crew, and I told Jodlin to look after it.

  We set a westerly course, chasing the fleet. I had all the guns inspected, with shot and powder made ready. We flew the flag of the Empire above the Ardalrion flag again as did the rest of the fleet but even then we were interrogated by a frigate who acted as the fleet’s rear guard.

  A couple of hours after leaving the tower, the entire fleet entered a large cove. I watched the great ships from the castle. Some were old, like the Battleship Frost Fang, some new, like the Frigate Seahorse. There was the War Breed, a sleek battleship behind the Wind Reaper, a tall battleship famous for surviving a blockade run early in the war. The Iron Hammer, the Brave Mission, the Widow Song. So many famous ships with long, bloody histories. I had seen them all before but now I would fight alongside them.

  The fleet was not hidden entirely but the boilers where left to run on a low flame and the smoke and steam dwindled. A few stragglers caught up, the last of whom was the Sea Huntress. Crosp had probably run her hard to catch up with the fleet. I had to give him credit for making it, bastard that he was. Crosp was at least loyal to the Empire and his duties.

  It was growing late in the day now and a lookout had climbed the cliffs to watch for the enemy. As it turned out, we had made it just in time for the lookout signalled that the rebel fleet was to the west. There was still a lectrocoder silence in force and so the flagship used the old fashioned, but reliable system of hoisting flags to relay its messages.

  This is it! A sense of relief at finding the enemy mixed with apprehension swept the ship. I guessed that it would be dark before the enemy passed us. I looked to the grey skies and was worried by the amount of steam and smoke still rising from the fleet, but hopefully it would be hard to discern from this distance, with a murky backdrop. Soon it would be dark, and then we would be properly hidden. All lights and flames were forbidden until the first shots were fired. All flags were to be lowered until the enemy was engaged.