Chapter 3: Salvage and other dirty words

The next morning Jake woke to an odd sound in his cabin, something large and meaty tapping on his window. Once his eyes adjusted, he saw it was Grace wanting out. “At least you seem house broken,” he said to her. He got up and opened the window. She used her tail to push off and glided out the window effortlessly. Once out, she spread her wings and took three beats away from the ship then looped back. Jake was worried she was coming back through the window. At the last second, she banked one wing down and glided off making a circle twice before she disappeared in the mist. He wondered if he would ever see her again.

He dressed and went out on the deck where he bent and stretched, then did his morning workout. Both his father and the Air Corps had drilled a daily workout into his young mind and body. If he didn’t do it, his day always seemed to go poorly. When he finished, he went back into his cabin to bathe and put on clean clothes. He called his greeting to the watch as he gained the pilot deck. “Morning Jasper. How was your watch, anything to report? Wait, I thought you had last watch. Did Meeker fail to relieve you?”

“Oh, no sir. I traded with him. I took his watch after mine so I would be up early today. Cook promised fresh fruit pies with caramel glaze. Said, he been saving them for when the holds were full, and since they are full now. He is making them for our breakfast. Last time I only got one, cause I was the last in there. That won’t happen again. Meeker will take my next watch. First Mate said it was okay. You’re not mad are you sir?”

“No, no. if Bowman said it was okay, then that is good enough for me. I remember the first time I had one of cook’s fruit pies after we were done with a haul. I would have gladly taken a second watch for an extra one too. Of course, I was six I think,” he chuckled at Jasper’s grin.

“I didn’t know the cook had been on the Lady that long. I mean, he’s always telling stories about when he and your dad first started but I figured he meant when he started with your pa not when your pa started.”

“Hmm. Let me think. Dad bought the Lady when I was four. So, that means, damn cooks been on the Lady twenty-six years this summer. I never thought of that. I should have done something nice for him. He was the first crewman my dad hired. As he told it, he went to post the crew slots on the notice board and when he came back, he heard someone in his galley. When he went to look, there was cook making his breakfast. Told him it would be done right quick. Dad said it was the best griddle cakes he had ever had. Cook has been cooking on the Lady ever since. When I was a boy, he used to make me these little hard sugar candies and give them to me for my watch. He said a boy needed something to help keep him awake, and if I ever fell asleep on watch I would never get another. I never did fall asleep on watch. I loved that candy more than I feared the chance of pirates getting us. So, anything to report?”

“Sorry sir. Only thing to report is the Captain’s mistress slipping off into the mist. I about jumped out of my trousers when she did. I heard this strange noise and was looking over the rail trying to find it. Then out she comes just as pretty as you please. Sure, made me jump. I thought she might have had you for breakfast and was making her escape. Then I heard your window shut. I figured you couldn’t be too badly hurt if you closed the window.”

“Hmm, my mistress huh? I wonder what horrible job I can find for a smart mouthed crew member. Maybe the underside of the hull needs inspecting. That was my father’s favorite punishment.”

“Sorry sir.”

Jake laughed and said, “Don’t worry about it. I’m not. I think we all have more than enough work. There is no reason to have someone doing make work for joking with the Captain.” Jasper relaxed at his words. Then Jake said, “Run down and get my ready desk and chair and bring them up here please mister Jasper. Then you can fetch the chart tube for me. See, no reason to give you make work. I can find plenty to keep you busy.” Both men laughed as the young lookout ran to get the items the Captain had requested.

Jake was looking in the mist when Jasper returned. As the man setup, the desk and chair he asked, “Think she’ll return sir?”

“I was just wondering the same thing. I don’t know. Hell, I can’t fathom why she stayed here last night. How am I to figure out if she’ll return?”

“The crew, we figure she saved us because we saved her. I know that sounds stupid, but it is what most of us believe.”

“I cannot say either way. I have often wondered why they sometimes follow us. I even asked other eeler captains if they had ever had it happen. They just laugh and said, ‘Wouldn’t that make our job easy if they just all followed us home.’ Jasper run see if the cook has my morning caff ready would you please?”

“Yes sir.”

Jake was still staring off into the mist when she returned. She came up over the rail and dropped a dead meer on the deck. The two-foot creature had its neck broken. Grace had obviously taken great care not to break the skin with her teeth. When Jake picked up the furry thing, he judged it had to weigh at least fifty pounds. Grace started her humming when he picked it up. He drew his long knife and started to skin the dead beast. When he was through, he gave it back to her. The eel wouldn’t take it and flew off over the rail into the mist once again.

Jasper found the Captain standing with a dead meer in his hands staring off into the mist when he returned. The creature’s hide was draped over the rail. The Captain stretched out and slit the belly spilling its innards over the rail. Before he could ask the Captain explained, “Grace just brought me breakfast it would seem. She just flew over the rail and dropped it at my feet. I thought maybe she wanted it skinned but when I tried to give it back, she flew off. After you set that up be a good sport and take this to the cook. Tell him I said to cook it as best he figures. It might make a decent evening meal. I never had meer before. I know it is considered a delicacy but so is sky eel and it tastes horrible in my opinion.”

Jasper only reply was, “Yes sir.” He took the meer and headed off for the galley thinking the cook would never believe this.

Jake was sitting enjoying the cook’s fruit pie and his morning caff when Grace returned. She came over the rail and landed. Then she floated up sniffing what was on the table. Jake figured good manners dictated he share his breakfast with her since she had shared hers with him it seemed. He cut off a large piece of the pastry and offered it to her. Her tongue came out and raked the piece off the end of his fork. He thought, “Oh goody I always wanted to try eel spit with my breakfast,” and sat the fork down on the table. Grace began humming as she ate her part of his pie.

“It’s true she really does hum. I guess that means she approves of Cook’s pies as much I do. I can’t wait to tell Cook this.”

“Then you should go down and tell Cook the Captain requests his company and an extra pie on the pilot deck.” The young man forgot the yes sir this time as he shoved the rest of his pie in his mouth and ran for the galley yet again. They heard the cook before they saw him. The sound of his cane always proceeded him. The eel moved to the far side of the table from where the cook would appear. When he made the top of the stairs she began making her chuffing sound. “I am almost certain that means she associates you with food, Cook.” The cook smiled at that. As he made his way with a plate carrying two new fruit pies, Grace was quick to round the table when she smelled the offering. Jake was impressed she didn’t just scoop them up. Instead, she looked from him to the pies several times again chuffing. He used the soiled fork to cut one in half. Speared it on the fork and offered it to her.

He was worried it might be too hot. He needn’t have worried she took the piece in her mouth and began chewing. The hum started up again and she floated several feet higher as she ate. The cook was gob smacked at what he was seeing. “I have to say, your fruit pies are approved of by eels across the land Cook. High praise that.”

“Aye, Captain high praise indeed.” They laughed at the eel’s antics as she ate her treat. When she finished, she floated over near the cook and eyed the other half of the pie. “May I,” asked Cook

“You can try but she hasn’t taken food from anyone else yet,” said Jake

The cook picked up the other half and offered it to her. She looked to the pie and then to Jake and back again. Then she chuffed twice. When she looked back at the Captain, he nodded his head, and she finally took the offering from Cook.

“I once saw a dog do that. I never thought I see a sky eel do it though.”

“Makes you wonder just how smart they really are doesn’t it?”

“That it does Captain that it does.”

With the food all gone since Jake had eaten the second pie while Grace was busy with hers, the crew members went back to their duties. When Bowman joined him, they went over the tasks they thought needed done. “I’ll take the twins with me in the launch to see if we can find the Raven and a new mast for us. if we can find it and her mast is intact, I think we’ll be ok. You need to have the Lady ready when we get back. Try to conserve as much juice as you can in the nacelles”

“Won’t take much. Pull the old mast and check those bow planes. You think the Reaver is still out there looking for us?”

“I have been thinking about that. I don’t think so. I’m betting her Captain headed off soon after we came into the mist. With all those distress rockets we fired, he wouldn’t want to stick around too long just in case the Corps had a ship nearby. We’re going to be careful though. I could be wrong.”

“Make sense. If I was him, I wouldn’t want to hang around. Um, what do we do if you can’t find us in this soup? No offense but, it is a possibility. It’s not like we have our position fixed or anything.”

If I can’t find you, we’ll hunker down for the night. First thing in the morning you pop out of the mist, and we’ll do the same. I’ll fire a signal flare and we will rendezvous. Simple as that.”

“If you say so. I just hope it all works out the way you say. Think she’ll go with you or stay here?” he asked, motioning to the eel over Jake’s shoulder.

“If I had to guess she will probably follow me. Though I’m not sure why. She has stuck fairly close since yesterday. Only left to hunt I think and do her business. At least I hope she did.”

The two men gathered their things and headed off to get to work. Bowman called for the twins to gather a set of tools and join the Captain at the launch. Jasper started putting away the table and chairs he had brought out. Jake walked over and began the prepping the launch. The Captain’s launch wasn’t used much on the Lady. It was meant for running errands while in port. With the Lady’s size, they never had trouble finding a berth near the places they needed. So, the launch got little use. The launch was fifteen feet long and six feet wide with a flat hull like all other airships. Jake had the cover off and was settling his gear when the twins showed up.

“Morning Patrick, Paul. Or is it Paul and Patrick? Bowman is right you two need to tattoo your names on your forehead.”

“If we did that sir, how would we tease our mother?” one of the twins asked.

“Don’t feel bad sir. Our sister is the only one who has ever been able to tell us apart. We never can figure out how she knows, but she knows and always has,” said the other.

“Let’s get loaded, this is going to be interesting. Did Bowman tell you what our task is?” When both shook their heads he explained, “We are going to see if we can find the Raven’s crash sight. If we can, hopefully her mast is still intact. If it is, then we are going to pull it and bring it back here to replace our mast the Reaver shot off.”

The two men just stared at him with blank expressions. “Oh, don’t be like that. If we can’t find the Raven, we’ll come right back. If we can’t find the Lady, then tomorrow morning Bowman will take her up out of the mist and we’ll meet up then. Nothing to worry about.”

“If you say so sir.”

Jake smiled and said, “I do. Now one of you load up. The other go and fetch our lunch from Cook.”

“I’ll load you go fetch Pat,” said Paul

“Ok.” With that Pat dropped his sack and headed off.

Jake and Paul had the launch ready before Patrick got back. Jake made a last-minute decision and fetched his leather coat and three shotguns from the lockers. His father had always said, better to have and not need than to need and not have. Jake had found it to be good advice. He checked his revolver and his re-loaders. When he looked to the twins, they got the point and started doing likewise. When he received a nod that all was ready, he took the controls. Soon they were floating above the Lady’s deck. He turned the launch, and they headed off into the mist.

Before they had left sight of the ship Grace was gliding along off to their left. He called to her saying, “Take us to the Raven Gracey my dear. Lead us to the Raven.”

Both of the twins looked at him like he was crazy. Soon he had the launch opened all the way. The walls flashed by every so often and he paid very close attention to Grace turning and shifting as she did. The poor twins had a white knuckled grip on the sides of the launch. The Captain couldn’t blame them. What he was doing was pretty crazy. If he thought about it, he would never have done it. He didn’t think though. He just followed his instincts and a sky eel named Grace.

He could feel the change when they left the canyons. The mist became a little thinner and they could see farther. He slowed the launch and turned to the left where he thought the Raven had crashed. She had been on his starboard side and well ahead of them as he entered the mist. If they were indeed at the start of the Old Man’s Teeth, then the Raven should be just a little further on. When a ship came into view both the twins turned and stared at the Captain. He couldn’t blame them. He had made it look easy. He slowed even more as they grew closer. The fact that they could see several hundred feet helped immensely.

As he circled the aft section of the ship her name became visible. RAVEN was written in five-foot-high letters under the windows in the aft of the ship. He brought the launch to a stop twenty feet away. He kept it there and just listened.

The twins turn to ask him a question, but he shook his head, and they kept quiet. Grace circled them gliding sideways between them and the Raven. After a full minute with no sound coming from the ship he nodded and rose above the ship to settle on her deck. “Gentlemen, I believe we are alone. However, we will do a quick search of the ship to be sure. Take your shotguns and stay together. We will start with the Captain’s cabin and move on from there.”

The two nodded their agreement and gathered the shotguns as the launch came to rest. Patrick, or was it Paul, jumped over one side as his twin did the same over the other. They made quick work of tying off the launch. Jake shut down the controls and took the locking key so no one could steal the launch and strand them. He didn’t think that was a possibility, but he wasn’t taking any chances. He debarked the launch and the three of them made their way to starboard side ladder to the lower deck.

Grace circled overhead as the three slowly searched ship. They were surprised to find men they knew among the dead. They didn’t find any living crew. There was a good deal of dead ones though. It took almost an hour and half to search the ship thoroughly. When they finished, they gathered near the mast. The mast was intact and that meant so far, they were lucky. The three men returned and started gathering their tools. The first thing they would have to do is remove the yards. To do this they would need to secure lift sacks to the yards before they dismembered them. They laid out the gear and soon had everything ready. The twins loaded the tools and lift bladders in the launch and began working. The Captain headed for the Raven’s Captain’s cabin to search for documents and other things that might help identify her prior occupant.

One of the reasons Jake brought the twins instead of other crew members was because the two could communicate without words. The other reason was their entire family had a way with repairing airships. It had been their cousins who had come to his aid in refitting new engines on the Lady. They had on several occasions repaired the lady when he had thought they couldn’t. He had also learned that if he had someone help them, anyone, they were more in the twin’s way than helpful. If they needed help, they would ask for it. He appreciated that about the pair.

In the Captain’s cabin, he soon found what he was looking for. The Captain’s log was sitting in a place of prominence on the shelf over the desk. The other book he was pleased to see was the Purser’s Logs. It contained not only the finances of the ship but in those finances, was each crew members name and what they had received as their share of different pirate activities. When he read the Captain’s name he was at first shocked. Then he realized it made perfect sense. The vessels that had been attacked recently, all of their captains seemed to have a disagreement with Raven’s Captain before they were attacked.

He gathered up all the evidence then took the pillow off the bunk and stripped its case. He placed all the evidence he had found in it. He sat his improvised sack back on the desk then started searching the rest of the cabin. He found a set of fancy dishes with both the ships name and her mascot. Most were broken. His search finally found a trunk under the bunk. When he tried to open it, he found it to be locked. Lifting it told him something heavy was inside. He figured there as a good chance it held gold. Searching more he found a sack containing gemstones, both cut and uncut. That would liven the crew’s spirits. There wasn’t much else to find, a small purse was the only valuable thing he found, and it held less than a hundred gold.

When he finished, he dragged the trunk and his sack out on the deck. The twins had all the yards removed. When he looked around for them, he couldn’t locate where they had placed them. “Auto yards. Brand new. We figured out how to close them. Had to remove the shredded sail first.”

“You’re serious? She had new auto yards?”

“Yep. They’ll look great on the Lady.”

Jake nodded and went searching for the Purser’s cabin. When he found it, he was disappointed. It seemed this Captain kept everything in his cabin under his watchful eye. Jake found the weapons lockers to be mostly empty as well. That made sense. They would have had the weapons deployed when chasing the Lady. He went over the damage to her bow. It was quite spectacular. He felt a pang of loss even if the ship was a pirate. He hated seeing any airship destroyed. He hadn’t noticed when Grace had joined him but when he turned from his inspection of the bow, she was there with him.

Her presence comforted him somehow. Strange he thought, for most of his life he had hunted sky eels. Now here he was comforted by the presence of one. The two ventured to the cargo hold but as he had figured, there wasn’t much. What he did find though made the trip worth the effort. He opened the hold and moved the winch into position. He hoped there was enough juice in her old batteries. He let out the lines then went back down to secure the two crates he had found. Then he was back topside working the winch. To his relief, it worked and brought his find up. He pushed the boom and set his haul on the deck, then closed the hold again.

He was just admiring his good fortune when one of the twins called him. They were ready to start jacking the mast out of the bracket and needed his help. The three men worked together jacking the mast up. It wasn’t hard work. With the lift bladders in place the mast didn’t weigh much. The problem was it was a very awkward load. It took one person to operate the launch while another manned the line to the upper part of the mast, all while the third person operated the hand jack slowly bringing the mast up out of the bracket. Then they laid the mast out the length of the damaged ship. It was going to be interesting on the way back. The mast was more than twice the length of the launch.

The twins showed him that wouldn’t be a problem as they took the mast apart into two lengths. Then secured the two sections together. Once they repositioned the lift bladders the mast stuck out over the bow only a few feet. The twins helped to load the other cargo to go back with them. The two crates were first as they were the more important. With them in the launch the three men would have a cramped trip back. The chest was strapped to the top of one of the crates. The twins said they would make it work for a chance to see what was inside. Both had tried their luck at opening it, and both had failed. They said they didn’t have the right tools for the job and promised it would be opened when they got to the Lady and better tools.

Grace had stayed near the Captain and the launch until they started back toward the canyon. Then she took up her position on the port-side. Jake told Grace to take them back and she darted off into the canyon. He soon caught up with her and she resumed leading them from the port-side. The launch wasn’t nearly as nimble on the way back as it was on the way out. All the added weight made her handle like a pig in a wheelbarrow. He had to take it slow, or he wouldn’t be able to turn the launch in time. Jake figured it would take twice as long to return, maybe longer.

He was therefore surprised when the eel started leading them down. He knew this wasn’t the right way when the light grew dim. He switched on the forward light so he could see where they were. What he saw made his face turn white. There below the launch was the dull black metal deck of the largest ship he had ever seen. He brought the launch in lower and set her on the enormous deck as gentle as he could. It felt irreverent to do otherwise. This could only be one of two ships. It was either the Karenna or the Forever. This ship and her sisters had made the Empire possible. While finding her was a miracle, it was a miracle that every nation would kill for.

“Paul, Patrick, listen very carefully to me. Remove your coats from your bag and place them over your head. no matter what happens you are not to remove them until I tell you. Do you understand.” At his words one of the two tried to stand and see why he had been given such an order. His twin, though, pulled him down. “Listen what is out there will get you killed. Not only could get you, but will get you KILLED. Do you understand. This is information that just the rumor of would get the entire crew killed on the off chance it might be true. Please trust me. I promise when it’s safe I will tell you everything I can. I want your words you will wait here with your heads covered until I get back.” He looked both men in the eye until they gave their word.

He shut off the controls and grabbed a hand light. Then he clicked off the light on the launch and climbed out. When he stood on the deck, he realized he was shaking. He couldn’t tell if it was fear or excitement. He started walking for the ship’s bridge. He could see the large structures outlined in the distance even in the mist. When he got close enough, he read her name. “The Queen Karenna” He dried his hands on his pants twice before he approached the door. when he entered, Grace bumped him from behind and he almost jumped out of his skin. Once he calmed, he hurried to the bridge then to where the Captain’s quarters should be. When he opened the door, he was shocked to find the lights on. He knew the ships had a secret power source. He just never imagined it still being functional after five hundred years.

He rushed across the room to the desk and found what he hoped to find. The ship’s log and the Captain’s log sitting neatly stacked in the center of the desk. What he didn’t expect to find was a letter. It was addressed “To: The Future Captain of the Karenna.” he felt both a chill and elation at seeing those words. The letter was covered over in fine wax. To protect it from the mist no doubt. The logs were wrapped in a leather skin covered with wax. He could read the large flowing letters on each through the wax. He grabbed all three and nearly ran back to the launch. He only slowed to secure the hatches he had opened. Once aboard his launch he wrapped the two books and the letter in his leather coat and stowed them under the seat. Then he lifted off and turned, heading for the light. Twice he looked back. He couldn’t see anything, but he knew what was back there.

He didn’t so much follow Grace as to lead her. She still stayed on his port-side letting him know of the canyons turns, but this time he was watching his compass more than anything else. He needed to be able to find her again if he wanted to. When he had gone far enough away but still thought he could find it again he landed on the floor near the canyon wall. “Guys just a few minutes longer.” He took out a piece of paper and wrote a cryptic note about cost and weight of freight then tucked it into the pocket of his coat. “Ok. Here is the situation. What Grace led us too is big and dangerous and I am not sure it is worth the cost of knowing. At the same time, I can’t just forget about it. So, we are going to anchor a solar buoy here. I doubt anyone else could find it from here, but I believe I can. Any questions other than what exactly I found?”

Both men looked at him for a second then smiled and replied, “No sir.”

“Good let’s get the buoy anchored then get back to our Lady.”

Then men worked quickly. They drove a large anchoring pin into the canyon wall. Then got the small solar buoy out of storage and started filling it with lift gas. Finally ready, they attached it to the anchor pin and released it. They watched as the buoy sailed off up and into the mist. When it had depleted the line in its bag they loaded up and followed the buoy up. They popped out of the mist a few yards from the buoy. It was floating well above the mist layer. Jake grabbed his glass and started scanning the sky around them. Other than the buoy there was nothing out there to see except the Old Man’s Teeth poking through the mist.

They lowered the launch back down and ensured the buoy was well secured to its anchor. Then Jake dug in their food sack and brought out a roll. He hoped this worked. He showed the roll to Grace and said, “Look what I have Grace. “ The eel floated close to him, and he continued. “You want the roll, Grace? Here you go. If you want more take us back to Cook and I’ll give you another one.” Grace again reveled in her treat. When he lifted off and started moving slowly, she got the idea, and they were soon gliding through the canyons again.

The trip back took them two hours. When the ship came into view the twins gave their Captain an odd look. Jake was a bit shocked himself that she had understood. His mind told him it wasn’t possible, but seeing his airship proved it was. They were moving too fast to land, so they circled the ship bleeding off speed. Then he set the launch down on the main deck. Crewmen came running to secure it. His faithful eel back winged and began floating near him. She chuffed once and he couldn’t help but let out a loud guffaw. He asked one of the crewmen to run see if Cook had any warm bread or rolls. If he did, please bring him a couple. The men went about unloading the launch. He gathered his coat and the sack and headed for his cabin. Before he got there the crewman was back with two fresh dinner rolls. He placed his bundles on the deck and fed the eel her treat. She did her usual humming of approval. When he was finished rewarding her, he retrieved his bundles and went to secure them in his cabin.

Jake secured the pillowcase with its damning evidence in the ship’s safe. He was about to put the Karenna’s logs in the hideaway his father had built when there was a knock on the door. “One minute,” he called out. He quickly removed the false molding from near his bunk then popped open the latch on the compartment with the thin wire he kept at the top of his bed. He took the logs and placed them in and closed it up again. Then hurriedly changed into a fresh tunic before calling, “Enter.”

Bowman opened the door and stepped just inside the cabin. “Either you found the Raven or there is a refit store out there in the mist. I can’t believe you found the Lady a new mast, and it’s an auto mast. I wonder how they got it.”

“I’m sure the same way we would have. They went in and ordered it. Then hauled it to wherever they berthed the Raven and installed it. Simple as that. What I wonder is how it will affect the Lady’s performance.”

“Should be a definite improvement. We’ll have more sail with the new mast. And we won’t need two crew members to adjust it for optimal coverage. The mast will turn to get the best sunlight it can. It is larger than our old mast. Well, taller and the yards will stretch out a few feet past the rails. That is what the twins said. That should make us a bit faster, with the added power for the engines.”