Chapter 1
A man woke to the gentle rocking of his hammock. Wearily, yet with a grace that showed his experience, he left the comfort of his blanket to begin the day. Walking up to the large porthole and looking outside, he saw nothing. Just a gray misery, so thick that you could cut it with a knife. He felt safe, no one would be able to spot them here. Rain began to speckle the glass of the window and he heard the bell from the top deck calling the morning shift.
It was going to be a miserable day.
He quickly put on his uniform, buckled his high black boots, and donned his heavy wool jacket. Making his way to the stairs, he glanced up, the rain dotting his face. He let out a sigh and slowly pulled himself up. The rain was cold and the wind was biting.
"Captain on deck!" cried a man at the helm.
Everyone on deck turned and saluted before returning to their tasks. Despite the years that he has served as captain, he had still never become used to the salutes. A young man in uniform approached him.
"Good morning, Captain".
"Good morning" he replied. "What is our position, Lieutenant?"
"We have held our position since last night, despite the wind, and we are at three hundred fifty fathoms."
"How thick is the cloud cover?" Asked the captain.
"Unknown, it crept in shortly past the middle night."
"Increase our elevation to bring us above."
"Aye sir" the man said before saluting and rushing off to ensure the order was met.
"How are you feeling this morning, Steven?" asked a man behind him.
"I am fine, Doctor."
"You do not look fine" the man pressed. "Come, lets get some breakfast."
"Very well Charles."
The large burners at the corners of the ship began to push out more flames. Slowly, the ship began to rise through the clouds. At four hundred fathoms, the clouds broke, the rain stopped, and the wind died down. Though they had left the miserable rain and wind, they were still surrounded by the towering peaks of cloud.
The two men entered the captain's mess with two of the other officers. The cook brought in breakfast, and when asked what was being served, he only replied with "food". Usually, this level of insubordination would have meant ten lashes in front of the crew, but the officers overlooked it. They had been on patrol for two and a half months and were long overdue to arrive at port.
"When are we to go to port, Captain?" asked one of the officers.
"Our orders are to patrol the Prussian border." He replied. "We will
continue to do so until we are told otherwise."
"I only ask because we are running low on food and about to begin on our reserve fuel"
The captain sighed, threw down his utensils, and left the table. The other men were speechless. The doctor rose and followed after the captain.
"What is the matter Steven?" exclaimed the doctor as he burst into the captain's quarters.
"Not now, Charles."
"Yes, now. You have been growing more reclusive, you are hardly around to even give orders anymore. It cannot be because we have been on patrol so long without any action?"
"Yes, that must be it." said the captain.
"That is not it then. You and I have known each other too long for you to be able to lie to me." said Charles. "I am your physician and your friend, tell me what is wrong."
"I don't feel like discussing it."
"I don't care. You have to talk about it sometime."
"It has been a long time coming."
"I know that you did not want this assignment. It is yours though, and you have to make the best of it.
"I didn't even want to be captain. I was content to simply serve."
"But you are captain and now you have others in need of leadership. There is nothing you can do about it."
"There is one thing that I can do."
"Are you really considering resigning your commision?"
"I am tired. Eight years of doing something that you never wanted to is exhausting. Especially when it is not very exciting."
"What would you do?'
"I was thinking I might captain a merchant ship."
"If you think that will suit you. But enough of that for now, what about orders?"
"I have not received new orders for over a month now."
"Don't you think that's odd since we are a patrol ship in a time of war?"
"Very odd, but not for much longer." said the captain straightening up. "I am taking us back to port."
"Is breaking orders a good idea?"
"I don't care about the orders, we have been out here without relief for too long. We are running out of food, fuel, and moral."
With that the captain rushed from his quarters and up to the top deck. "Captain on deck!" was shouted once again. This time, when everyone turned, they stayed facing him waiting for an announcement. He look at each of them, smirked, and said "We're going to port, lads!" The crew cheered and made the ship ready to return to port. The sails opened, the propellers began turning furiously. Slowly the ship began to decend through the clouds. When they emerged from the underside, they saw below, the great city of Optilocus. As they go closer to their port in Argenstrath to the south of Optilocus, they saw that something was wrong.
Many ships were surrounding the capitol firing down on it and parts of the city were ablaze. The crew gazed upon the city in horror.
Had the war been lost? Was Optilocus taken?
The captain wondered if this is why they had not received orders. As they drew closer, the captain looked at the ships through his spyglass. To his horror, the ships were bearing the Antiford flag. If Antiford ships were firing on the city, then surely they would fire upon his ship. One of the crew shouted out that two of the ships had turned and were coming towards them.
They did not have enough fuel to find the rest of the fleet, nor were they able to out run the ships coming after them, and they certainly could no go to the Prush Confederacy. They would have to make a run for Titania. If they could pull into one of their ports, they would be safe for a while.
"Back to the clouds!" shouted the captain.
His hope was to lose the enemy in the cover and maybe reach the northern border. The crew, still in shock, stood still staring down on the battle. The captain fired his pistol.
"Back to the clouds, now!" he repeated.
The crew scrambled to follow the orders, and the ship disappeared into the clouds. Then, it became quiet. All that could be heard was the rushing of the air as it passed them. They had run out of fuel and the burners had stopped. At first they were floating down gently, but as they got lower, they began to fall faster. The crew began to panic, the ocean was drawing closer.
"Hold fast!" the captain shouted.
With that, the ship plunged into the water, and all went dark.
Chapter 3
It was a long, dismal journey back to Antiford. With only five on the ship, they were unable to man sufficient sails to travel quickly. At the end of a week, nearly thrice as long as the journey should have taken, they looked upon the familiar sight of Optilocus far in the distance. For a moment, they were overjoyed at the prospect of returning home. Then, the reality of the situation began to sink in. What if they were no longer welcome? Many may have assumed that they had perished in the crash. It would be quite a surprise if they suddenly appeared in port. Steven was particularly worried about returning home. While he was not the captain of a warship, he was still well known enough for his dislike of the Ministry of Engineers.
“Will they even let me back in the city?” Steven said softly to himself.
Just then, a cracking sound was heard. All looked at its source, as the main mast split in half and fell into the water. As it did, the ropes and spars of the other sails became entangled and were pulled into the water. The whole ship lurched forward, and they barely had time to cut the rope and stop the rest of the ship from capsizing. They were now dead in the water. With a few miles of ocean between them and the city, it was just out of reach, too far to swim. The captain went below deck, what was left of it, so that no one would see his anger and disappointment, it was unprofessional. Charles followed him, knowing why he was going below.
“Steven, you could not have known that this would have happened.”
“I should have! I knew that we weren’t really ready to set sail, but I pushed us to leave as soon as we could.” He replied.
“You wanted to get home. We all did.”
“With only five of us? It was a miracle that we even made it this far. I have been thinking that, maybe we should have stayed in Hjem. They would have had plenty of work for us. I could have had a merchant ship. What pride is this? Just a couple months ago, I was thinking of leaving all of this. Then, when I am given the option, I turn it down. What the hell was I thinking!”
“You were thinking of your duty.”
“Bah! Duty! Me thinking of my ‘duty’ almost got us killed today. It could be days before anyone comes to tow us in. It is unusually hot for this time of year, do we have the supplies to last another few days?”
“You cannot blame yourself. Your duty was not to the military, Steven. It was to your crew. We wanted to go home.”
“Captain! Come up top, Sir!” cried a voice from above them.
“What is it now?” Steven said with a sigh.
The two of them climbed up to the main deck. Alongside them was a sail ship. It looked like a merchant vessel. A long plank was lowered and a man appeared at the top of it. He looked a little out of place, and did not look like any merchant that Steven had met. He was dressed well, but was in rugged clothing like that of someone who was travelling on foot. He began to walk down the plank towards them.
“Greetings! I am Phinneus Cromwell. I saw your sails collapse. Are you in need of assistance?” said the man.
“Hello, Mr. Cromwell. I am Captain Steven Copely and yes, we would be most grateful of any help you can offer.”
“We can tow the ship into port and you are welcome to come aboard while we go. Oh, I was just about to sit down to lunch, would you and your crew care to join me?”
“That would be great. We have had nothing but stale bread for the past two days.”
As they boarded the ship, they noticed that the crew was comprised of not only Humans, but of Yeti and Demons as well. They followed Phinneus below deck and into a room at the stern of the ship. It was a fairly large room with a large window looking out over the ocean. It appeared that this room served as his personal quarters as well as his mess and where he conducted business.
“I apologize, captain.” Steven said to Phinneus. “I had thought that you were the financier of this ship and not its captain.”
“Well, I know that I don’t look much like a captain. I don’t think that I look much like a merchant either. I think…I am a combination of the two.”
“What do you trade in, if you don’t mind me asking?” said Charles.
“Not at all. I bring goods back and forth from Paorr. However, my chief trade is water.”
“And how long have you been a captain?”
“I am coming back from my first voyage. I acquired this ship a few months ago, and had spent most of that time making it seaworthy again.”
“I have thought about becoming a merchant myself” Steven said. “I am not really sure where and how to start though.”
“A military man turning merchant, that is an interesting transition. Once we pull into port, we should talk. I have an offer that you might like.”
Food was brought in. Steven’s crew had not eaten so well since before they set out to patrol the Prush border. While they ate, they talked with Phinneus and about his trip to Paorr. Though he was new to being a captain, they could tell that he was a very experienced man. The door to the room opened and in walked a tall, thin yet muscular, very pale man.
“Phin, we have just pulled into port, we are ready to unload the cargo” he said. “Also, the ship in tow has been secured to the dock just behind us.”
“Ah, good, thank you Boric. I would like to introduce you to the crew of the Prelude.”
“It is very nice to meet you. I am going to oversee the cargo.” Boric replied and left the room.
“He is really a very pleasant person, once you get to know him. Now, how about we have that conversation?” Phinneus said, looking at Steven.
The rest of Steven’s crew disembarked to inspect their ship. Steven stayed behind and talked with Phinneus. They talked about the war and the revolution. Steven learned about Phinneus’ past and Phinneus learned of Steven’s. When it came to the new rulers of Antiford, the two men were of the same opinion. They both had their reasons, different as they were, but they were on the same side. It was then that Phinneus made an offer that surprised Steven.
“I am looking to start a fleet. Not so much of a military, but a group of ships that can keep an eye on things and help those that the new government is leaving behind. These ships will act as merchant vessels as well and be able to raise some funds on their own. That being said, it will be dangerous, and the new military may not take too keenly to us, so I would like people with some military experience. You seem to be a good man and you don’t like the new government as much as I do. So, what would you say to joining me?”
“That is an amazing offer. Can you give me some time to think?” Steven replied.
“Certainly, but do not take too much time.”
With that, Steven left Phinneus’ ship and went back to his own. He walked into where Charles was collecting what medical supplies were left.
“I have been given the choice again.”
“What do you mean, Steven?”
“Phinneus offered me a commission as a merchant vessel, of sorts, in the fleet he is attempting to start. I think that I will take him up on his offer.”
“Would you be getting your own ship, or keeping this one?”
“From what he was saying, it sounded like I will be keeping this one. I would be in command of a passenger and light cargo ship. I think that I would like a life like that.”
“You and I have been friends for a long time. I will join you, if you will have me?”
“Of course! I am not entirely certain what will happen, and it would be a good idea to have a physician.”
“I am going to go and accept his offer. I have been given the choice again, and I would be a fool to deny it a second time.”
“Where are you going to get another crew though?”
“I think Phinneus will help. Besides, with the revolution, I doubt that we will have no trouble in recruiting a new crew.”
Steven went back to Phinneus and accepted the commission. Little did he know that he was the first to join a movement that would challenge the government that seized the country. The months and years that were to follow would be some of the greatest in Steven's life and he would get to see and do things that he had not even been able to conceive.