Chapter 9: Decisions

Patrick woke Jake before the sun had risen. A runner had come with orders from the Admiral. Patrick told him his breakfast was waiting in the sitting room with the orders. Jake threw on his uniform from the day before and walked barefoot to the table to retrieve the orders. He broke the seal and read them thru. Jake was to turn over the Bulldog to LCMDR Perry at his earliest convenience and report to the Admiral’s office no later than nine o’clock this morning. He mused at that. He had always found it funny when they said your earliest convenience and then said do it now. He handed the orders to Patrick and asked him to give them to Perry along with the sealed orders that had been inside of his. Then he returned to his room to prepare for the day.

By 7:30 he and Patrick were headed off the Bulldog and on their way to Admiral Teller’s office. Pat with both of their airbags over his shoulders and Jake with the two eels over his. Teller’s door was open when they arrived, and he called them in before his clerk could even greet them.

“Good you’re early. That will help. I don’t know what you did to get under the Duke’s skin, but he has a real bee in his bonnet over you lad. His majordomo was here when we made port with demands to know everything there was about you. It seems the Duke is rather upset at some insult. Care to tell me what the man is talking about?”

“Sir, the only thing I can think of is Gail’s reaction to him last night. The Duke tried to take Duchess Bedford’s arm from where she had it through mine. Gail was on her arm and took offense to his actions. She hissed at him. The Duchess informed him that neither she nor Gail approved of his manners.”

“Good lord, no wonder he is all in a tiff. Well, if that’s the case I don’t see why he is after you. Maybe I do. Gail is your eel after all. The best thing for you lad is to disappear. So, I’m releasing you from active duty.” He motioned to a stack of papers. “It’s all right there. Yours too Kennedy. As soon as you sign them my clerk will issue your pay and you can get out of here. Go straight to your airship. It’s still in the warehouse. Try to get lost in the morning traffic at the port. Hell, maybe take her to another port entirely. That is up to you. Just make yourself scarce for a bit.”

“Yes, Sir,” both men said.

Jake handed over the Captain’s log from the Bulldog and recommended Perry as his replacement as he started going through signing the paperwork. It didn’t take long for them to finish. The clerk issued them their pay, a full month’s wages. Jake was almost out of the Admiral’s office when he remembered the reports he had written. He fetched them out of his satchel and handed them to the Admiral. “My after-action reports sir,” he said when the Admiral raised a questioning eyebrow.

“Excellent. I had planned to have you write them out later.”

“Sir, what did you want me to do about Durand sir?”

“Hmm, that is really your decision commander. How about this. You write out a letter dropping all charges and I’ll send my XO around to talk to him in a few days. We’ll offer him the chance to resign. Tell him you agreed to drop charges if he did. Otherwise, he is facing a serious charge of unlawful entry and armed incursion onto a civilian vessel. That’s five and two, seven years’ prison should have him seeing reason.”

“Yes sir. We can hope at least.” Jake wrote out the letter and signed it. He left off the date and gave it to the Admiral. The two men shook hands and Jake and Patrick left the office. They were greeted just outside by the XO’s clerk who had helped get the Lady stashed in the warehouse. He gave them a lift on a pull cart. Thankfully, this trip was nowhere near as fast as their last ride. They thanked the man for the lift and went inside.

Jake smiled at seeing the Lady. she was set down on the floor of the warehouse. Bowman hadn’t been idle during their absence. While they were gone, the crew had repaired all the damage, and had even given her a fresh coat of paint. She looked good sitting there. Jake walked a full circle around the ship before climbing the ladder set against her side. When he reached the top, he was surprised to see the entire crew assembled on her main deck. Bowman called them to attention, and they snapped to like a well drilled unit. Then saluted their Captain. Jake was touched at the welcome. If Patrick hadn’t cleared his throat, he may have stood there for hours grinning at his crew. When he stepped forward the eels launched off and circled the deck pushing off the rails and the pilot deck as they circled, greeting the eels still on the ship.

“Gentlemen, it would seem we have worn out our welcome with Air Corps. The Admiral suggested we get while the getting is good. So, we will. We’ll make our way to our regular berth and dispatch our cargo. While Bowman is handling that I will go to the harbor master’s office and fill out the paperwork for our reward for the Raven. I can’t say how fast they pay off on it though. If we’re lucky we might get that before we ship out again.”

“How soon are you planning to ship out sir?” asked one of the crew from the back

“Not for at least a week, maybe longer. Once we get all that taken care of, we’ll settle up and you men can see your families. Bowman, get started on getting us out of here. Do whatever you have to do to get those doors open. I’m going to go change.”

“Ah Captain you look so good in your Airman’s suit,” someone said

“Bowman, find out who that was and give them fifty lashes.” That caused the crew to laugh. He changed out of his uniform and stowed the airbag in his locker then returned to the pilot deck. The Lady was just making its way out of the warehouse as he climbed the ladder. Bowman carefully pulled them out and turned to head for the port. As they went the launch came onboard with six of the crew inside. They secured the launch and went to stand ready for when they arrived at their normal berth.

Jake felt no need to take the helm. Bowman was more than capable of handling the Lady. He soon had them exiting the Air Corps port and traversed over to the civilian port. Traffic seemed heavier than usual as they made their way to their berth. The docks were bustling with activity as they tied off. They hadn’t even finished the process when the local eel merchant was there ready to inspect their haul. Jake told the man that Bowman would show him their catch and made his way off the Lady and to the harbor master’s office.

The place was a beehive of activity. Jake waited in line to see the clerk. He knew he would have to see several people before he was thru. He just hoped it wouldn’t take all day. He had the report from the Bulldog’s officers about the wreck and Teller had signed it stating that the Raven had been shot down by the Lady and her crew. Jake hoped that would expedite things. When he finally reached the desk, the clerk was less than helpful. Jake handed over the papers and reports. The clerk read them then looked at Jake. Then he looked at the papers again. “You’re Captain Harrow?” he asked

“Yes, I am Captain Harrow.”

“There is a warrant for your arrest,” said the clerk

“If you look at the third page you will see a letter from Admiral Teller clearing me of those charges. As I said when I gave you the stack a moment ago,” said Jake.

“That may be so, but”

Jake interrupted him saying, “That is so. You have a sealed document from the commanding Admiral of this Duchy. Are you telling me his word and the finding of the Air Corps isn’t good enough for you?” Before the man could answer an older man came over and asked what the trouble was. the clerk whispered something in his ear and the man gave Jake a hard stare. Jake said, “As I was telling this man, the third page in that stack of papers if the report and findings from Admiral Teller. That report clears me and my ship of any wrongdoing. He refuses to even look at the report.” The man looked back at the clerk and frowned.
The clerk said, “I was going to look at it he just didn’t give me time. Kept demanding this and that.”

“I see. Very well.” The older man took the papers from the clerk and said, “If you’ll follow me please sir.”

Jake followed the man from outside the large desk. When he reached the gate to the back section the man opened it and led him to a very neat desk in one corner of the office. He pointed to the chair in front of the desk and took a seat behind it. He didn’t say anything. He started reading through the pages neatly stacking them upside down on the desk as finished each one. He read the report from the Admiral twice. Then nodded and continued reading. When he finished, he asked, “Captains logs?” Jake fished his logbook out of his satchel and handed it over.
The man thumbed through it to proper pages and read it over several times. Then he glanced a few pages back and read through the book to the end. He finished reading then nodded and closed the logbook. Then handed it back to Jake. “Everything looks in order Captain Harrow.” He pulled out some paper and began to write. When he finished, he passed it across to Jake and told him to sign it. Jake read the page thoroughly. It said the same thing as his report only in fewer words. Jake signed it and passed it back. The man put in a stamp and pressed the seal into the page. Then did the same with the two copies he had written out. When he finished, he placed one copy on top of Jake’s pile and another in a box on his desk. Then he started writing out a second page. This one he signed and sealed before he placed it with Jake’s stack. He rested his hand on the stack and said, “This page will get you the bounty on the Raven. You’ll need to take it and the page under it to the port authority office at the city hall. The man there is even more unfriendly than Harrold over there.” He pointed to the clerk Jake had encountered earlier. “Best of luck to you Captain Harrow and thank you and your crew for your assistance to the Crown.” He reached out and offered Jake his hand. The two men shook then Jake took the papers and returned them to his satchel as he stood.

When he left the Dock Master’s office it was past noon. He stopped at a street vendor and bought a meat pie on his way to city hall. He was lucky and just managed to catch the trolley heading there. He sat at the back and enjoyed the ride. His enjoyment was cut short when he noticed a boy reading The Great Dreadnaughts. He had read the book when he was young. He still had a copy in his apartment in fact. The sight of the book though made him remember the logbook hidden in his cabin. What was he going to do about the Karenna? His brooding nearly made him miss his stop.

The man in the port authority was as unpleasant as he had been warned. Jake had to threaten to go to the constable when the man tried to charge him fifty Crowns for a bounty license. Jake had heard of the scam before from another airship Captain. When he said he would be happy to fetch a constable and file charges of fraud the man huffed and puffed. When Jake picked up his documents and turned to leave the man caved in. After that the man was very efficient and had Jake out of the office in no time. Jake made his way to the city treasurer’s office and received the payment without any hassle. With the bounty license nonsense and waiting it had taken him three hours to finish. The last trolley for the port had already left.

Jake decided to take a coach and he was able to hail one near the front of the city hall. The ride down to the port was much quicker than the journey to city hall without all the added stops. He paid the man and made is way to where the Lady was docked. He was happy to see his crew was still onboard when arrived. Bowman had the purser’s table set up. He had waited for Jake to return before paying the men. Jake gave Bowman the bounty payment and the slip from the treasurer’s office to be added to the pot. Bowman quickly added it to the figure and began figuring out the shares. They had already counted the chest from the Raven.

With the new tally figured Bowman showed Jake. Jake nodded and motioned for him to pay the crew. He had noticed that they had found a buyer for the meer and had received a good price as far as he knew. This payday would be more than triple what the crew normally received for a good run. The men all smiled as they collected their pay and shook Jake’s hand before heading off to be greeted by their families. Jake couldn’t keep the smile off his face at seeing their joy. He imagined more than one of the crew’s wives would be sporting a new dress before the night was over.

With the crew paid, the cook and the three officers gathered in Jake’s cabin. Bowman set out the shares for each man and the cook nodded his head as he collected his and left. Garver had his eel Misty wrapped around his arm and looking over his shoulder as he collected his pay. He said, “Best haul I’ve ever seen Captain. Pound for pound the meer fetched more than the eels. Have you decided what we’re going to do?”

“Not yet I haven’t. I’ve had a few other things on my mind,” Jake said with a grin.

“Well, if what we fetched from this haul is any indication might be worth really considering.”

Before they could continue there was a knock on his cabin door. When Jake nodded Garver open it. Jake was surprised to see the twins stand there. One of them said, “Sir we was hoping to have a word with you in private before we left. If you don’t mind that is?”

Jake looked to the two men and then nodded. He said, “Let me finish up here with Bowman and then we can talk.”

Garver made his farewell and followed the two out. Bowman said, “I hope they aren’t here to tell you they have enough with this haul, and they won’t be signing on again. They’re right handy to have onboard those two.”

“Can’t argue with that. How about you? With your share, I’m sure you can afford your own ship. I know you’ve been saving up for one.”

“I have. That was the plan anyway. A few months back the wife said she didn’t want me to get my own ship. Said I should take our savings and retire. Just her and me now with boys all grown. She figures won’t take much for the two of us to live on. She figures I can convince you to let me do a run once a year or so. Just so I don’t drive her to crazy she says. I don’t know. I’m too young to retire. What would I do? Anyway, we haven’t finished talking about it. I’m sure she’ll tell me what I’ve decided when she’s ready. I hope she likes the eel. That could be trouble. I hadn’t considered that.”

Jake laughed at his First Mate’s dilemma. Bowman gathered his share and exited shaking his head as went. Jake wasn’t too worried for the man. From what he had seen, Bowman’s wife was one of the good ones. She didn’t spend his money faster than he could make it, nor did she hound him about being home more often. Jake opened the strong box to collect his share and was surprised to find the bag of gems inside as well as a note. The note said the crew voted and the gems were his for always looking out for them and their families. The crew’s gesture moved Jake. The gems would bring in a decent amount that would have added to their pay nicely. His musing was interrupted by a knock at his door. “Just a minute,” he called. Then he gathered the coin pouch and gems and transferred them to his safe. When he had the safe relocked, he called, “Enter.”

The door opened, and Paul and Patrick came in. He had figured it would be them. He pulled a couple of chairs over and offered the twins a seat. After they sat, he took his seat at the desk and turned to face the twins. They looked at each other. Then they nodded at the same time. “Sir, we want to talk about what you found in the mist. We think we know what it was. We didn’t look or anything. We figured it out. We want in,” one of the twins said, Jake thought it was Pat.

Jake frowned at the two of them. “What is it you think I found Pat?”

“One of the dreadnaughts,” he said very quietly. “We figure it’s the Karenna. There wouldn’t have been anyone alive to hide Forever. So, you found the Karenna. It’s the only thing that makes sense,” Pat said.

“You saying countries would kill at just the rumor of the secret was what tipped us off. The only other thing we could figure was the lost mine of Detherium. That just doesn’t fit though because we landed on a ship of some sort. Those are the only two things we can figure every country would kill over just a rumor.”
Jake was mad. He wasn’t mad at the twins. They were right. He had given them all the clues they needed to figure it out. No, he was mad at himself for making it easy for them to figure out. He rubbed his hand through his hair and said, “You’re right. I did give you enough clues to practically tell you what it was. have you told any of the other crew members?”

They both shook their heads. Then Pat said, “We’re good at keeping secrets, and only talked about it when we were sure no one was around to hear. Nobody thinks anything of it cause we always talk about stuff in whispers.” Paul nodded his agreement.

“I’ll tell you the truth. I have decided what to do about it.” He held his hand up to them cutting off their interruption. Then continued. “Yes, I would love to see her fly again. Yes, I have dreamed of being her Captain. However, if I, or we were to bring her back it would mean a huge amount of trouble. First the Crown would try to seize it. They would do anything they had to, to get control of her. I have no doubt they would stop at nothing to ensure they got it. Our families would be in danger. That’s only our country. Other countries would do the same. Where would we bring it to port? I just don’t see any way we would be able to keep her.”

Paul said, “The Crown hasn’t blinked when other airships were salvaged. The Reaver was originally a Lurathian battleship, and there are several other airships still flying that were once military vessels. Hell, the Crown sells off their outdated airships to help pay for new ones.”

“That’s true, but we are talking about one of the Empires dreadnaughts. There is no way the Crown isn’t going to want the ship. Then there is the fact that if we gave it to the Crown other countries might just see it as a reason to attack us. I just haven’t decided what to do yet.”

“Sir please promise us you’re not going to cut her up and sell off her Detherium. I think I would cry if you said that was your plan,” said Paul, and Pat nodded his agreement.

“No, I just haven’t figured out how to salvage her without starting a war or endangering our families,” he sighed. “I had thought of making her a heavy freighter for moving valuable merchandise. You know gold and what not. If we could refit her so her systems were up to date, she wouldn’t need such a huge crew to operate. Then we could sell berths and maybe make her the most feared passenger liner in history.” He said the last with a big smile. “What I would really like to do is make her a training vessel. Sort of a floating academy. Hell, I’ve thought of half a dozen things I could use her for.” The three were all silent for over minute thinking on the matter.

Paul asked, “Will you tell us what you brought back from her?”

“Her logbooks. I have them hidden. The Captain took great care to ensure they were protected from the ravages of time. He wrapped them in leather and sealed it with a heavy coating of wax. The entire thing. I don’t know how he did it. No, I haven’t opened them yet. I wanted to talk to an expert before I tried opening it. I would be a dammed fool to open them without checking. I plan to go to the college here in the next few days and ask one of their historians. They should be able to tell me.”

Both men nodded their agreement. Then they looked at each other and nodded again. Then they rose and said together. “We’ll be going then sir,” Paul continued. “Just remember us when you head back to her,” Pat added. “We don’t care about the money with this one. We just want to get our hands on her and help fix her up,” Paul said. “Imagine the publicity we would have for our shipyard if we could say we helped to get her airworthy again.”

Jake smiled and shook his head at the two. It was just the sort of thing they would do. He shook both of their hands and said, “Once I’ve decided I’ll let you know. I promise I won’t leave you out of it if there is any way we can get her.” The twins smiled at that.

The twins left and Jake spent some time pondering the problem. His stomach growled reminding him it was dinner time. He could head down to the galley. Chances were Cook was there, but he didn’t want to bother the cook. He decided he would head to one of the nearby restaurants. As he put on his coat the eels watched him carefully. He smiled at the thought of people’s reaction to them and decided to take them.

He exited the Lady with an eel coiled around each arm and bobbing their heads over each shoulder. When he reached the street, he got the looks he expected. He smiled and tipped his hat as he headed for one of the better restaurants. Marcy’s was his choice for the night. The old gal ran a fine place, but her fruit pies were the best within walking distance of the dock, and maybe the entire city. He wanted to give the girls a treat so he figured Marcy’s would be their destination. Besides, he was looking forward to seeing her reaction when she saw the eels.

When he got there, he could see the place was only half full through the huge front window. He saw patrons stop and stare as he walked by. A young couple was just leaving when he opened the door. He held the door to allow them to exit. They just stood there and gaped at him and the eels. He tipped his hat to the woman and said good evening. That seemed to get them moving and the two hurried out the door. Jake saw them staring from outside as he walked to a table in the far corner. In truth, the entire place was staring at them. He hung his hat on a peg on the wall and then gently pried Grace and Gail free so he could remove his coat. He sat the two on the back of the heavy chair and they wrapped their tails around the thick wood at the top. Jake watched as the two eels took in the room looking all about. Grace made a chuffing sound and he chuckled. Then pulled out the seat and sat down.

Marcy was at the far side of the room arguing with one of her serving gals. Jake hoped it wasn’t because of him. Finally, she just shook her head then came to his table herself. Jake smiled at her as she approached. She was a plump old gal with grey streaks in her hair. She had those streaks for as long as Jake could remember. When he was younger, he thought it looked like someone had painted stripes in her hair when she wasn’t looking. He still thought it looked like that. Like always she wore a flour dappled apron. Today it was a red checkered one over her blouse and skirts. She approached his table without a worry and smiled as she said, “Evening Jake. So what’ll it be tonight?”

“Sorry I didn’t look at the board when I came in Marcy. What do you have tonight?”

“Got the mutton stew. It’s pretty good tonight. Has lots of meat and veggies in it. Been cooking since before lunch. Or we have stuffed baked rabbit with gravy. I think we have a few meat pies left back there too.”

“I’ll have three of your baked rabbit then. The girls and I are hungry.” He rubbed the eels’ heads as he said this. “I hope you have plenty of fruit pies tonight Marcy. The ladies here love baked breads and pies. It’s the reason we chose your place tonight.”

“Oh, is that so? Well, we should have plenty for them. What’ll you have to drink?” she asked.

“Honey ale if you please a large tankard.”

“Coming right up. Um, Jake, about the eels, are they safe? I mean they won’t hurt anyone, will they?” she asked.

“Haven’t yet Marcy. Came close with an officer who wasn’t very friendly, but normally if they’re upset they hiss like a tea kettle to let folks know they’re mad,” Jake said. Just then Grace chuffed. The sound made Jake laugh and say, “Yes grace she is going to bring you some dinner I promise. Just be patient.”

Marcy smiled and asked, “Does that really mean food?”

“Yes, it’s the sound she makes when she smells baked goods. It may mean please for all I know.”

Marcy laughed again and said, “I’ll send over your drink and get your meals right out then. Anything else I can do?”

“If you wouldn’t mind sending a basket of dinner rolls with my drink it would help settle these two down. If you bring it yourself, you’ll get to hear something interesting,” he said.

She eyed him suspiciously. He had played a few pranks on her when he was a kid. Then she nodded and said, “Be right back.” With that she turned and walked off with a bounce in her step.

Jake sat back and relaxed as he surveyed the room. He loved being on the Lady flying through the air, but there was something relaxing about being on solid ground. It was like his body said this is where we are safe. He wasn’t sure he was any safer on land than in the air, but his body seemed to think so. Marcy came back with a tray with two large tankards and a covered basket.

She sat one tankard and the basket in front of Jake and sat the tray with the second one in front of a second chair. “Don’t mind if I join you, do you?” she asked. “I figure you have a good tale to tell. It’s been a while since I sat and heard one of your tales.”

Jake smiled and replied, “Please sit.” Grace was moving closer to the basket. And he rubbed her head saying, “Just a second Gracey. Yes, the rolls are for you and Gail.” When she pulled back, he opened the cloth cover and pulled out a hot dinner roll. The smell hit him, and he couldn’t fault the two eels. They smelled wonderful. He offered Grace the first and she greedily swiped it off his hand. As she began chewing she began humming. Then she was airborne singing her praise of the fresh roll. Jake didn’t hesitate, he took a second one and offered it to Gail who mimicked Grace’s every move. Jake smiled at Marcy as she sat there staring at the two eels, her mouth hanging open. “Careful Marcy or you’ll start catching flies,” he said with a chuckle.

She snapped her mouth closed and said, “Flies wouldn’t dare come in my place. They know better.” She smiled as she watched the two eels floating high above the table. Jake heard the humming trail off and knew Grace had finished her roll. So, he snatched one from the basket and tossed it in the air without looking. Since it didn’t plop down on his head and the humming picked back up, he figured Grace had caught it. When Marcy started shaking her head, he knew he was right. A few seconds later the humming changed again, and Jake lofted another roll in the air. This one also failed to land on his head. “Amazing. I never would have believed it. They sing. Who would have thought eels sing?”

Jake smiled and took a pull from his tankard. The honey ale here was one of the better ones on the docks. Unlike in the taverns, this ale had little alcohol in it. It did have a rich flavor though, and he enjoyed the cool drink as he sat and watched Marcy’s amazement. The eels finished their second roll and drifted down to the back of his chair once more. He was surprised they didn’t start chuffing for more. They seemed content for the moment though.

“Okay Jake, tell me about the eels. This is a story I have to hear. How did you manage to train sky eels like that?”

“I didn’t. That’s the honest truth Marcy. I didn’t train them. They sort of trained themselves.” Jake told her of how he captured and released the females and how Grace had led him through the mist at the Old Man’s Teeth. When his dinner arrived, he started feeding the eels by cutting off pieces of the rabbit. The eels ate the rabbit, bones and all. Jake and the eels ate as he told her his tale. They finished the meal before he finished speaking. He was surprised when the eels used their tongues to scrape the vegetables off the platters. He couldn’t remember them eating vegetables before. When Marcy frowned, he said, “I’ll pay for you to keep these two platters for my ladies here so they can use them the next time we come in.” When she nodded, he went on with telling her his tale. The only thing he left out was the part about finding the Karenna. When he finished, he motioned for a server with his tankard. The young woman nodded and hurried to get him a second one.

“That is some tale, Jake. Some tale indeed. So, the Raven is no more. Good riddance. That bastard of a Captain hurt a lot of good folks with that dammed ship. Your dad would be proud of you.”

That caught Jake off guard. He hadn’t thought of his father much in the last few years. He considered her words and nodded his agreement. The old man would have been proud he thought. “I think he would,” he said.

“You said you wanted fruit pies for you and your ladies here. Let me go fetch you some. I’ll be right back.” She got up and took her empty tankard and tray and headed for the kitchen. She wasn’t gone long. When she returned, she had four fruit pies on her tray. Jake and the eels could smell them long before she got to their table. Hot peach pie fresh from the oven. The girls hummed low before Marcy had joined them. She placed three of the small plates with the pies in front of Jake. Then sat across from him with the last one. Jake cut two of them in half and enjoyed the powerful smells that wafted out. He carefully picked up half from each plate in his hand and offered it to the eels. They gobbled up the offerings and floated up humming once more. Marcy laughed at their antics.