Open Waters, Fleet Territory

  Mid-Dry Season, Year 17

  “I see Alonso,” Remus said, out of nowhere.

  “Finally,” I muttered, standing up and stretching. We’d been sailing for three days and for the entirety of those three days, the rest of the squad had found increasingly stupid jobs for me to do. Mopping the deck, undoing the knots on the rigging, redoing the knots on the rigging, adjusting the sails, climbing the mast, descending the mast, redoing the knots again, oiling the ship’s wheel - there was no end to this shit.

  I’d had enough on the very first day, and said as much. “You guys are assholes,” I’d said, throwing the dirty rag in Julius’ face. “You’re just sitting around! Why am I doing all this shit?”

  “Seiwuai is too,” Elia pointed out.

  “Without whining,” Hua added.

  “Are you hazing me? Is this a prank?”

  Julius peeled the rag off his face, giving me a smugly moist grin. “Hazing? Us?”

  “Yeah, I’m done,” I said, squatting on the deck. Seiwuai looked up from the other end of the deck, pausing in the middle of scrubbing. “Give me one good reason why I should listen to anything you assholes say.”

  “I think it’d be good for you,” Remus said. I looked up at where he stood by the wheel, leaning on the railing and smiling at me. There wasn't…any particular tone to how he said that, but the reverse of that is that not doing it would be bad for me.

  I was on the middle of a ship with no land in sight, with a guy who could turn off my knees by looking at me funny. Time to suck it up.

  “...mm,” I growled, looking away. There wasn’t much I could say about it, not unless I suddenly found some way to fight the entire Fleet one by one until I got away. I scratched my shoulder - and barely caught the rag in time, Julius whipping it back to me.

  He pointed at the floor between my legs. “You missed a spot.”

  Now, three days of menial labour in, I still hadn’t seen a single way this shit could be good for me so the chance to do literally anything else had me ready to jump off the ship. “I don’t see anything,” I said, looking around in all directions.

  “You wouldn’t,” Remus chuckled.

  I looked up at him-. “Wait a minute,” I frowned.

  Elia chuckled as well, rising from where she’d been lying on the deck. She braced one knee against the deck, flipping her giant braid over her shoulder, and…was still a little taller than me like this. Huh. She pulled a telescope out from a pocket on her jumpsuit, pointing it out at the horizon, turning slowly. “I see him,” Elia said. “Direction is…Seiwuai?”

  The much shorter girl stood up, putting down a bristle brush and shoe polish beside two pairs of leather boots, and retrieved a compass as she stepped over to Elia’s side. “Ah…heading is…north-west? North-north-west. Three…hundred and forty two.”

  “Close,” Elia said, lowering the telescope. She opened one hand to a compass that- I didn’t…remember her holding before. She glanced down at it then nodded to herself. “Three-four-one-point-eight."

  “I don’t have sub-degree markers,” Seiwuai said, holding her compass up to stare closely at it.

  “No, you don’t,” Elia said. “And neither do I. You’re still fresh but your eyesight will improve, and experience will help as well. But you never want less than one-figure precision, or the waves’ll take you way off course.”

  “You planning to share with the rest of us?” I asked, walking over and holding out a hand.

  “You planning to say please?” Elia said.

  I stared at her and she stared back, a small amused smile on her face. “Please.”

  “‘Please, Elia.’” She fluttered her eyelashes.

  “Please, Elia.”

  “‘Please, Elia, and I’m sorry for being rude. I will carry all your gear to make up for it.’”

  “Give me the damn telescope,” I grumbled. She handed it over with a laugh and I held it up, scanning the horizon for whoever the hell we were supposed to be finding. “I don’t see anything.”

  “Can I see?” Seiwuai asked, and I passed it to her.

  “Damn, kid’s blind and he can’t jump,” Julius said with a yawn, lying on his back. He had his bare feet propped up on Hua’s knee, the woman sitting on the steps to the upper deck and inspecting the heads of a few dozen arrows. Her own feet were a sandy brown, bright against her black jumpsuit.

  “There’s nothing fuckin’ out there,” I said, turning to him. “Just a…rock or island or some other tiny dot in the distance.”

  “Oh, you did see him,” Elia said, sounding pleased.

  “Wait, that?” Seiwuai asked. She leaned forward against the railing of the ship, trying to get a clearer view. “That’s…nothing. I can’t make out any details. How can you tell?”

  “Like I said,” Elia shrugged.

  “Yeah, Johannes, like she said,” Julius called, tilting his head to look at me upside down. “Maybe if you complained less and spent more time practicing-”

  “Cleaning the deck isn’t practice for shit!”

  Julius sniffed dramatically, wrinkling his nose in disapproval. “Well, fine,” he said. “Seiwuai? Let him shine our shoes. And don’t give him the polish.”

  It took another few hours for us to get close enough to see anything with our bare eyes. After some more unspoken threats from Remus, I’d spent the time liberally spit-shining two pairs of leather boots, and my mouth was dry enough that seawater was starting to seem appealing. I’d looked Julius in the eye with the first spit, and he just shook his head and told me I was gonna need a lot more to get the job done. Which he held me to, the son of a bitch.

  “Looks like he’s in some trouble,” Elia said, tossing a canteen to me.

  I screwed off the top and downed the whole thing in one shot, wiping my mouth as I looked out across the waves. The water was an angry roil of breaking foam, silver fish swarming over each other, jumping out of the water and onto each other to snap at a single dark shape that was basically floating in the air.

  “How did he get himself into this mess?” Hua asked, walking over and resting both hands on the ship’s railing.

  “This guy can fly?” I muttered, staring at the scene.

  “That’s incredible,” Seihaui said.

  They were basically floating because they were jumping from fish to fish, kicking off the sides of their head whenever one came up to bite and jabbing at near misses with a long spike of metal.

  “I think,” Remus said, walking up behind us, looking- facing the sight in front of us. “That this is a good opportunity for our two newest members to show us what they can do.”

  “Us? By ourselves?” Seiwuai looked back at him.

  “Finally, something to do,” I muttered.

  “Hey, Johannes.” I looked at Julius, a curious expression on his face. “How strong are those fish?”

  “How the hell would I know? I’ve never seen them before.”

  “You can tell,” Hua said. “If you aren’t totally incompetent, at least.”

  “You-” I said, then shut up. I stared out at the fish, looking at them closely, trying to gauge them. They were massive, each one at least a fathom and a half long, and twisted and cut through the water in an angry ball. Bigger than most animals I’d ever seen, so probably stronger - which said a lot just compared to a full grown bull. I could almost smell them, the scent of the sea itself but with a distinctly fishy note, like it was noon in a fish market. An acrid scent that made me hold my breath, answering without breathing. “Pretty strong.”

  “How strong?” Hua demanded.

  I looked at her, gritting my teeth. “Probably as strong as you.” I left the ‘bitch’ part out.

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  “Good,” she said, nodding and looking back out at the water. I looked at her in confusion. “You’re close. First Rank Sea Serpents, but they’re upper first rank. So they’re stronger than me.” She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. “Which means they’re stronger than you too, if you were getting stupid ideas.”

  “Oof, harsh,” Julius said, leaning on my shoulder. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then leaned in towards me. “She does have a point, though. How’re you gonna handle that?”

  “They’re fish,” I said, looking at him like he was crazy. “I’m just gonna swim over and stab them in the gills until they stop moving.”

  “Hm, yes,” Julius said, nodding. “And, that would be swimming…through the water?”

  “Unless you know something else to swim through.” I raised an eyebrow, wondering where he was going with this. I tried to push him off my shoulder but he remained stubbornly in place.

  “No, no…I’m guessing you’ve caught fish that way before,” Julius said. “In a river or lake, maybe?”

  “River,” I said. “What’s your point?”

  “Well,” he said, leaning forward to look theatrically over the side of the ship. “Small issue. That’s freshwater, and this is open sea. And I’m guessing you’ve never gone for a swim in this before.”

  “...no,” I admitted, glancing at the water. I had forgotten for a second that this was open water, saltwater that was likely to make me grow seaweed in places I can’t show in public if I fell in. I blew out a breath, ducking out from under his arm, and grabbing the railing. “Fuck it, it can't-”

  “Johannes,” Remus said, his voice cracking the air. I jerked my hand back from the railing, looking at him. “Under no circumstances are you to go overboard from this ship without a direct order. Understood?”

  “I don’t get what-”

  Remus leaned towards me, the air around him growing stormy and making all the air on my arms start to raise. “Am I understood?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “Understood.”

  Remus nodded, the tension vanishing. “Seiwuai?”

  “I understand, sir.”

  “I don’t get it, then,” I said, turning to look. The ship had continued to sail closer while we’d spoken, bringing us from yelling distance to now a stone’s throw away from the fish and the lone man holding his own mid-air against them. “How the hell are we supposed to help if we can’t get off the ship?”

  “Seeoh’s shit,” Julius complained, pulling a Trite out of a pocket and passing it to a smirking Hua.

  “The ship,” Seiwuai said, looking down thoughtfully. “It’s a formation- Remus, permission to join the Warship?”

  “Granted, Seaman,” Remus smiled.

  “Double shit,” Julius said, passing another coin over. “You gotta try harder. You’re costing me a fortune, man.”

  Seiwuai closed her eyes, focusing- on the ship. The Warship. The Warship formation, which we could contribute to and fight with-. Right, the whole stupid training was learning about this thing, this was just a raft on a high horse. I looked over. “Remus?”

  His smile grew fractionally wider. “Go ahead.” I blew out a breath, pushing my inner energy out. “Focus more. Reach for me, or for the ship, but not everywhere.”

  “Thanks,” I said dryly. I tried to do that, to direct the flow of energy more intentionally. It brushed against something, like the hairs on my arm brushing against a curtain, and suddenly I was there. Standing on the deck of the ship, not just with my body, but my awareness. I could tell where everyone else was without looking, a vague sense of their emotions as they watched Seiwuai and I fumble along. Amusement, hope, pride, disinterest-

  But most importantly, I felt strong. Like I’d been carrying around a heavy weight my whole life and finally put it down.

  “Well? What’s the plan?” Remus asked.

  Seiwuai met my eyes for a second, chewing her lip on thought. I walked over to Hua, pointing at the quiver strapped to her thigh. “I need an arrow.”

  She frowned at me and, begrudgingly, passed one over. “You can’t use my bow.”

  “Don’t need to,” I said, turning and slicing the arrow over the back of Julius’ hand. He hissed something but I was already cutting a strip from the sleeve of my jumpsuit, using it to soak the…blue…liquid? I looked at Julius, who was still frowning at me. “Why is your blood blue?”

  “What kind of stupid question is that?” He frowned.

  “It- Whatever,” I said, pulling the cloth away. I passed the arrow back to Hua and turned to Elia, pointing at her hair. “Can I borrow one of those?”

  “You mean my hair ties?” She looked confused.

  “Those are belts,” I pointed out.

  “Not for me,” she said, reaching behind her and blindly unbuckling one. She handed it over to me, looking curious. “What the hell are you planning?”

  “Bait,” I said, tying the cloth to the buckle and looping the belt on itself. “Going fishing.” I walked away from the rest of them, trying to get to a spot on the deck closer to the swarm of fish, and passed Seiwuai. She was kneeling on the deck, her hands braced around two standing blocks of shadowy wood. She must have summoned them from the ship, but what the hell she was planning to do with them, I had no idea.

  I untied a length of rope from the mast, a stretch that was a backup for a backup for the main sail's hoisting line, and tied it onto the belt. I hopped onto the edge of the railing, bending my knees right before the ship hit a big wave, riding the shift without losing my balance. I glanced down at the waves brushing against the outside of the ship, and carefully adjusted my footing to secure it. I reared back, aiming for the middle of the group, and hurled the belt - and missed, landing near the far edge.

  I grabbed the rope and reeled it back in, holding the wet ball of leather and fabric. I’d overshot, landing past and off to the side of the fish. So, lean back, aim for the middle of the group, slightly softer throw - and this time, it landed in the middle of the fish. I twisted the rope around my hands and tugged it sideways, trying to grab the attention of some of the fish and immediately got more than I was asking for!

  Four of the fish turned away, chasing after the bait. I whipped it to the side but nowhere near fast enough. The lead fish bit down on the belt and I threw myself backwards before it could haul me off the railing! Agh, I hit the railing sideways as the freakishly strong fish tried to pull me off the ship, my shoulder pressing into the bars! I twisted my hands in the rope for a better grip, gritting my teeth against the strain

  “Little help would be nice,” I grunted.

  “Nah, you’re doing fine,” Julius yelled. “Oh, they’re fighting!”

  I tilted my head up to look over the railing, where the fish on my line was being attacked by the rest. They surges forward to bite at its side, drawing a streak of blood before the fish let go and the rest surged after it.

  I dropped onto my back as the line went slack, then got dragged forward again! I pushed with my back, stopping myself with my legs against the railing, standing sideways as in the air as another fish caught the line.

  “Oh shit, they’re all after it now,” Julius said, sounding concerned.

  “You know what, it’s fine,” I said, gritting my teeth. “I’ll just do it myself.”

  Someone landed on the railing in a crouch, their shadow falling over my face. There was a flash of silver and a dull thunk, then the line went slack and I suddenly dropped to the floor. “I deeply thank you for your help, sir,” a boy’s voice said.

  I squinted up at him, tilting my head up to look at the kid climbing down from the railing. He was more than a foot shorter than me, maybe Seiwuai’s height, if even that much, and didn’t look older than twelve. He was dressed in the black jumpsuit of the Fleet under a very not-Fleet sleeveless half-coat - a ?maona?, a quilted cotton armor you got on the cheap - with a dangerously long spear in one hand. It was a fathom in length: half of it the wooden handle, the other half a thin, single-edged blade.

  “No problem,” I said, pushing myself to my feet and wheeling my shoulders. “You Alonso?”

  “Oh…yes, sir,” he said, straightening up and bowing. He was a pale colour; not…white, just a sick-looking washed out shade of brown. It made him look like a ghost, and the faded braid of white-blonde hair didn’t help. The brightest thing about him was the red-and-blue veins of coral stretching from the back of his hands into his clothes. “Alonso Seaborn.”

  “Johannes,” I said, looking up as Remus walked towards us. He gave me a small clap. “Yeah, thanks. I’m guessing I’m allowed overboard if I get hauled off the ship, then?”

  “That is, unfortunately, a risk of the job,” Remus said, turning to Alonso who quickly tapped his chest. “Welcome back. I was starting to worry something had happened to you.”

  “My apologies for the lateness, sir. I found a lead and was pursuing a ship but they chummed the waters and escaped.” His tone was respectful, almost apologetic, but…depths, there was a feeling standing near him that put me on edge. A texture to the air around him, a little rough and slightly cool. Like standing by a window in a storm.

  As half-dead as he looked, this kid wasn’t weak.

  “A ship? Was it carrying anyone?” Remus asked, which seemed like a stupid question.

  “No, sir. The ship only had a skeleton crew, which is unusual for core seekers. That’s why I found them suspicious.”

  “Core seeker?” I asked.

  “Seekers who hunt sea serpents for their cores,” Remus said, answering me without actually telling me anything.

  Alonso nodded. “They didn’t have any catches in the hold, either. The whole affair was strange.”

  “How the hell did you get out here, anyway?” I asked.

  “Oh,” Alonso said, looking back at me, then at Remus. “Right. Sir, is this…?”

  “Half of our new recruits,” Remus said, turning to gesture to Seiwuai who thumped her heart twice with her fist. She looked…slightly uncomfortable to me, but Alonso just returned the salute. “Speaking of whom, were you making a cannon, Seiwuai?”

  “Yes, sir,” she nodded. “But I wasn’t…quick enough.”

  “Yes,” Remus nodded, and her shoulders sank slightly. “It might have been better to abandon the plan once Johannes’ started working. But it’s impressive you have the technical skill to do that in the first place. We’ll work on that; a cannoneer would notably change our Warship profile.

  “Johannes?” He turned to me.

  “What? My plan worked.”

  “It did,” Remus nodded. “And you even did so with teamwork.”

  “A generous description,” Julius said, pointing at his eyes then at me.

  “However,” Remus continued. “You didn’t stop to involve Seiwuai. Why is that?”

  I shrugged. “I dunno, I just didn’t have a use for her.”

  “Hm,” Remus said, looking thoughtful. “An unfortunate showing, that.”

  I stared at him with a vague but growing sense of annoyance as he turned back to the rest of the squad and started towards the door that led into the captain’s cabin, and me tonguing the point of a tooth. How the hell was that an ‘unfortunate performance’ when I was the one who got this stupid kid out of danger? I had a growing sense that this was the first in a large pile of shit, which was starting to smell like I was the one downhill.

  I scratched my shoulder, any desire to stick around in this shitshow quickly crumbling to dust.

  “Anyway, we’ll have time to talk about all that later. Let’s eat and discuss where we’re going next.”