The Medieval Marine - Cauldron Simmering
Copyright© 2025 by somethin fishy
Chapter 15: Is It Possible
“Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” – Lewis Carroll.
York, Great Britain. November 1078
“Marion! You need to see these intelligence reports from the Seljuk Empire.”
“Gretchen, calm down. What’s got you in a tizzy this morning?” Mackenzie only looked at Gretchen with curiosity.
“We have been receiving reports that Mosel was burned to the ground. Remember, Isfahan was burned in September.”
“Yeah. What about it?”
“Well, look at this.” Gretchen pulled out a map and marked Isfahan and Mosel. “The distance between these two cities is several weeks’ ride, and from the time intervals, I would bet the same people who set Isfahan on fire did the same to Mosel.”
“Gretchen, cities burn all the time. You’re not making sense.”
“I know that, but intelligence also suggests that Sultan Malik rushed out of Isfahan and headed west. The latest reports indicate that he is in Baghdad. Now, I have to ask you, Marion, why would the sultan leave his capital just after it was burned unless he was chasing whoever had done it? Also, if it were a common arsonist, I doubt a leader would leave their capital city right after it was destroyed. Whoever destroyed it had to be extremely valuable.” Marion gasped.
“Luke?” Mackenzie looked up sharply and asked at the same time as her mother.
“Daddy?”
“That’s my gut feeling. We know he’s not in Nubia or Europe, so where is the only place left? We know an unidentified cavalry column hit a medical unit after the battle, and trackers found their tracks leading to the sea. The Seljuks are famous for their cavalry. I would bet that a Seljuk patrol was sent to abduct some of our troops or officers so they could improve their military. Everything we have on him suggests that Malik loves knowledge. If he captured Luke and Luke escaped...” Gretchen didn’t get the chance to finish her sentence before Marion finished it for her.
“Then Malik would do everything possible to recapture him. So how do we help?”
“We would have to know how Luke intended to get back here.” Marion looked at Gretchen and went to find a map showing the Middle East and Europe. She didn’t have a map that showed both regions, so she grabbed two maps.
“Here, we know Luke, so we should be able to make an educated guess.”
Marion, Mackenzie, and Gretchen leaned over the maps and filled in all the information they had. After that, they made a list of the possible paths Luke could take, along with the advantages and disadvantages. It didn’t take long for Marion to discard the sea route. Piracy was a problem in that part of the Med if the person wasn’t in a British or Egyptian ship, which were rare in that region. With all the warfare in Syria, Marion doubted Luke would backtrack toward Egypt. Also, traveling by sea during the winter was still a dicey proposition, even on a British ship. For typical ships, it was almost suicide.
That left Anatolia or the steppe. Being winter, Marion also doubted Luke would travel through the steppe, which left Anatolia. Given Luke’s love of knowledge and classical texts, Marion guessed he would try to winter in Constantinople. There were a couple of problems with that. First, British merchants had been banned from Constantinople after the end of the Egyptian War. Second, the new Emperor was no fan of the British. Third, the city was one of the largest in the world, and finding one person without raising suspicion was virtually impossible.
“Gretchen, have your intelligence network focus on Constantinople. I want enough coverage to know what color the emperor shits on any given day.”
“I could have done without the colorful picture, but I get the point.”
“Thank you.”
Gretchen left to send out the new orders while Marion sat back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. Finally, after two years, Marion had a clue as to where Luke might be, and she was determined to give it her all to find him and bring him home. Mackenzie silently watched her mother, knowing she was deep in thought. When Marion was ready, she would sit up.
After thinking about Luke for a while, she returned to her work. Gretchen’s other reports sat on her desk, and they didn’t paint a pretty picture of Europe, especially the Holy Roman Empire. Marion wasn’t sure what she was going to do about them. While she didn’t have any alliance with Henry, she did with Ingegerd, and civil wars have a nasty habit of crossing borders. If the German Noble’s Rebellion crossed the border, Marion would be going to war.
If Marion could stop that from happening, it could save her much aggravation or cause her more, depending on how things played out. Marion could supply advanced British weapons to Henry, which would allow him to fight the rebels more effectively, but those weapons could fall into the hands of the rebels, thus making Henry’s problems worse. An even worse scenario would be for the European powers to figure out how to build British rifles, severely reducing the British technological advantage on the battlefield.
“Mum, you’re not going to sell our firearms to the Germans, are you?”
“Absolutely not. If they want to buy firearms, we will sell them muskets. It won’t take one of the armories long to retool to make muskets. In fact.” Marion paused to write an order before calling her secretary. “Let’s start the retooling now. If nothing else, the muskets will give us another trade good, and since we can make them cheaper and of higher quality, most of the small gunsmiths will be driven out of the business.” Mackenzie looked at her mother. She wasn’t sure she had ever seen her mother so cold-hearted. Marion noticed the look Mackenzie gave her. “What?”
“I don’t know if I have ever seen you like this.”
“You mean so willing to drive others out of business?”
“Yes. Those guns are their livelihoods, and without them, many will be forced into slavery.” Marion sighed.
“You need to remember something, my dear Mackenzie; one day, you will be the BRITISH queen, not the world queen. The order of people you need to worry about is: first, the British people; second, allied people; third, neutral people; fourth, hostile; and last, enemy people. If our innovations cause hardships in other kingdoms, that is their problem, not ours. Remember that while a kingdom may be an ally today, tomorrow, it may be an enemy. Also, remember that those guns may one day be turned on us, so it would be far better for us to control the supply as much as possible. That way, if we go to war with a kingdom, they will not be able to obtain new firearms.”
“So, it doesn’t bother you that people in other kingdoms will hate you?”
“No, and it shouldn’t bother you either. You said it yourself in the trial of the spy a few months ago that you don’t care about what others thought about you, and yet here you are worried about people’s jobs in other kingdoms.” Mackenzie looked at her mother like she had grown two heads.
“How can you be so cold?” Marion sighed.
“Mac, the world is a cold, heartless place, and as queen, you cannot afford to feel bad for other people. Sometimes, I need to be cold with our people to protect them. Every time I send the military to war, I know I am killing fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters, and yet, I have to send them to war when the situation requires it.”
“But did you really need to send the military to Egypt? If you hadn’t, Daddy would still be here.”
“And how many other British people would be slaves?”
“You already recovered most of the captured Brits. Why did you need to send the military?”
“Mackenzie, this is part of the job that sucks. When the Egyptians took British slaves, they attacked all of Britain. As a leader and protector, you cannot let small attacks go without response because, before you know it, those attacks are not so small. The Egyptians also served as an object lesson to anyone else who thinks it’s a good idea to take British slaves. We proved without a shadow of a doubt that if British people are taken as slaves, we will crush them. Also, you need to remember that it was your father that set up the current Egyptian government. Now the Egyptians are allies and are digging the Suez Canal that will make trade with the Far East much easier.”
“I don’t know if I can do this, Mum.” Marion smiled warmly.
“When I was your age, I couldn’t have done this either. I wasn’t capable of doing this job until I came under the influence of your father. He taught me how to be a leader and defend myself in hand-to-hand combat. Without those lessons, I would have been dead, although I doubt your Aunt Cecilia would have still been ruling because the Normans would have conquered England and removed her from power. Then again, with her connections, who knows. My point, Mackenzie, is that you will grow into this role just as every child grows into the role they will hold in society. While I don’t know about the personalities of the younger children, so far, you have the best personality for a national ruler, which is why you are learning at my side. Someday, it will be your son or daughter learning at your side.” Mackenzie swallowed, and it felt like she was trying to swallow her fist. Her mother had given her a massive responsibility.
“I won’t let you down, mother. I shall do whatever is necessary for the betterment of all British people.”
“I know you won’t let me down, Mac. I know you won’t.”
Mackenzie and her mother embraced each other as tears rolled down their faces. Marion couldn’t be prouder of her oldest child. Even the way Mac argued with her showed that she was her Daddy’s daughter. If Marion had one wish, it was that Luke had been there to see his daughter accept her future role. As it was, Gabriella was there and cried just as much as Marion did. Mackenzie was as much her daughter as Marion’s, and Gabriella was just as proud of her.
When Mackenzie informed Alice and Kukka of her decision to work at becoming the next queen, they were just as proud of her as Marion was. As time passed, the rest of Marion’s, Alice’s, and Gabriella’s children would be taught the same material, and it might prove that one of them was a better choice than Mackenzie, but for the time being, the line of succession was secure.
Mackenzie’s oldest brothers were just as happy. However, soon, things would change. They had avoided, at least for now, the massive headaches that come with ruling an empire. Fredrick and Carl were both looking at future careers in the military, with Fredrick interested in the Air Force and Carl liking the look of the Navy.
That’s not to say that Mackenzie wouldn’t have military training or experience. Together with Gabriella, Alice, Kukka, and Bard, Marion wrote out a long-range training schedule for Mackenzie. She also included the goals for Mackenzie to shoot for.
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