Chương 29: Chapter 128: Amelia-sized Hammer

Leaving Korvus' office behind, Serena headed to the Vengeance's bay. The rioting Treki workers had long since been brought under control, and they shuffled around the docks undertaking their tasks. They still cast guarded looks at the ship, but were too busy nursing their bruises—gifts from Tariq's thrown barrel and the violence of the guards—to start another commotion. After climbing the steps, Serena couldn't help but tug at her collar, letting the southerly breeze cool her neck.

With Amelia's wards and her own aura, Ishaq's heat wouldn't cause any discomfort, but her mind didn't know that. It still expected her to sweat, her subconscious unable to reconcile the aetheric cooling with its natural biological processes. The result was that Serena was sporting a cold sweat that served no purpose other than to annoy her. Not that she would loosen her clothes.

She might have been persuaded to allow her crew to do so, and even permit her officers to dress casually, but as captain of the Vengeance, Serena wouldn't let her crew see her as anything other than the perfect and immovable Imperial force she aimed to be. Returning to the first deck, Serena was greeted by Tomes.

By now, her quartermaster had processed everyone's leave, but he'd evidently chosen to remain at his jury-rigged desk—fashioned from a few planks of wood balanced on two crates—and was scribbling away at documents. Amelia's gifted pen darted around the paper, filling in tables of figures with a delicate efficiency that seemed almost impossible given the man's thew. Next to him, Allston sat on a barrel, tinkering with a greasy valve.

Both men had apparently chosen to continue working outside, not that Serena could blame them. The ship was more or less an oven at this point, even with every window, hatch, or vent opened wide.

"How's our crystal?" Serena asked, stepping up to the two men.

"We docked in with eight days of lift remaining," Tomes said, tapping one of the figures with his pen.

"Not a lot of leeway, given that the weather patterns in the Passage can hinder ships for weeks at a time. With that in mind, we cut it close, Captain. If we head back east, we ought to fill our belly. Take no chances."

"I won't," Serena reassured. She turned towards Allston and asked, "Engines?"

"Lift engine is purring like a peeka," her chief engineer responded.

"Propulsion engine is the same, but some of the valves that balance the ship's steam are being a bit… sticky." Allston took a greasy pair of hands and operated the valve for Serena to see.

"Replacing them with this new design. Much more stable and stronger in case we have unexpected blowback." Allston raised his head and nodded upwards.

"See there, Captain?" Serena followed his eyes and found herself looking at the ship's upper aetherscope. There, with a little bit of help from her aura-enhanced eyes, she could make out Allston's niece—Evelyn. The newly promoted warrant officer was emerging from an access hatch with a bag of tools. She watched as Evelyn began prying out some of the silvery panels that surrounded the aetherscope's sensitive instruments, not hesitating before squeezing into the tight space.

"She's a natural greasehorn," Allston said, his voice tinged with pride.

"See those tools she's using to get the panels off? Made them herself, she did. Hells, if they put her into a Centralis development team, the war might've been won all the quicker."

"You don't need to convince me of her abilities," Serena answered.

"I know she's the best."

"Aye, Captain." Allston nodded and then proceeded to give Serena an overview of the damage the aetherscope had sustained when it had been struck by the Indefatigable's underhull flak. As she calculated the cost in her head and made a mental note to invoice Menes the full amount, she was surprised to hear that Evelyn had bumped into Amelia in Ishaq.

"She bought some lumencable," Allston said.

"Gave it to Evelyn to bring back to the ship. I have it here…" The chief engineer reached down and handed her a cloth bag. Opening it, Serena saw not only were there coils of lumencable, but also the result of what must have been an impromptu shopping spree. She saw a bag of peekaleaf, nestled next to a bundle of peeka treats. If she thinks I'm going to let her give Romulus peekaleaf… Serena thought, mentally chastising her outrageously bold girlfriend.

Lani once gave it to Poro, and he ripped apart Mother's favourite—Oh? What's this? Serena reached down and picked up a small, ornately cut crystal bottle. The clear liquid inside was too viscous to be water or perfume, and, judging by the pleasant smell she picked up from it, it was some kind of lotion.

"What in the Seven Hells has she…" Serena muttered, rotating the bottle to read the label. When she read 'Synthesised from desert fruits', she simply hummed with curiosity. When she read 'Tantalising and intoxicating', Serena felt an eyebrow rise. When she read 'Heighten womanly sensations' and 'Enhance the sexual experience', her arm practically broke the speed of sound as it slammed the bottle back into the bag, with all the speed and aggressiveness of a fight to the death. This idiot!

Fighting the urge to grasp her horns there and then, undoing years of maintaining perfect authoritative perception amongst the crew, Serena instead forced herself to take a long breath. She slowly corrected her posture. Glancing to one side, she saw Tomes focusing intensely on his paperwork. A glance to the other side showed Allston looking at his niece, his hand shading his face from the sun.

"I hope you men haven't been looking through Miss Liona's things," Serena said coldly.

"No, Captain," they both replied in unison, not meeting her eyes.

"Miss Liona is a young woman and deserves her privacy."

"Of course, Captain."

"She's unmarried and can't afford any scandalous rumours."

"Of course, Captain."

"I see we have an understanding."

"Yes, Captain!" they sang in strained voices.

"Good…" Serena intoned. Then, without any further comment, she left the two men and made her way back to her quarters. Then, and only then, when she was utterly alone, less Anathor's ever-present perception, did she let out a frustrated groan, dropping to her knees and doing her best effort at turning her horns into artificial diamonds.

"Idiot. Idiot. Idiot," she said to herself.

"Idiot. Idiot. Idiot." The mantra of frustration worked, and within a minute, she was able to stand and hide the bag under Amelia's things. She tried to satisfy herself by imagining all the cheek-pulling and hair-ruffling she would subject her girlfriend to at the next opportunity. Still, no matter what fantasy of punishment she tried to conjure up, her mind kept returning to that clear bottle of massage oil and its cheek-flushing implications.

"Idiot!" Serena cried out once more.

"Hmm…" Anathor's coarse voice filled the room.

"I take it Miss Liona has done… something?"

"She has," Serena said, chewing on her words.

"She has certainly done something."

"Maybe you—""Not now, Anathor," Serena interrupted. Her mind raced, looking for something to distract the formless with.

"How's the ship?" she asked.

"How's it handling the heat?"

"Heat like this," Anathor began, "isn't something that would trouble her. The crew, on the other hand…"

"I know. I'm painting the ship white."

"Hmm… end of an era."

"It's just paint, Anathor. We can always change it back once we've left the South."

"Of course, Captain."

"Now…" Serena cleared her throat, resetting her emotions.

"Where's Aiden?"

"He just finished recording those instructions from Intelligence. He's looking for you on the first deck. Should I direct him to come here?"

"No. I'll go." With nothing further to be said, Serena returned to the first deck. As expected, Aiden was there, chatting with Tomes and Allston. Approaching them, Serena avoided looking into her quartermaster's or her chief engineer's eyes, instead focusing her gaze on her Intelligence officer.

"Finished?" she asked.

"Aye, Captain," Aiden responded, throwing out a quick salute.

"All finished. How long before they make contact, do you think? We could be here weeks!"

"Then we'll be here for weeks," Serena said resolutely.

"Anathor told me you were looking for me. What is it?"

"Ah. Well…" Aiden gestured to Tomes' paperwork.

"I'm supposed to be on leave, Captain. If it's alright with you…" He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Serena narrowed her eyes.

"You just want to go drinking, don't you?"

"Is that a crime?"

"Depends on how much you drink, Officer Adachi." Serena clicked her tongue before finishing, "Take your leave. However, watch yourself. You're not a student any more. None of us are. Don't disgrace the crew, Officer. Dismissed!"

"Aye, Captain! Thank you, Captain!" Aiden enthusiastically saluted. After giving his farewells to Tomes and Allston, he vanished down the gangway, speedwalking his way to some Ishaqian drinking establishment.

"Hopeless…" Serena muttered to herself, watching him vanish between two buildings. She shook her head, only to see Finella appear from a passage, sporting a nervous look. The squad commander looked around the dock, as if expecting an ambush, before meeting Serena's eyes. Finella gave her a solemn nod, which Serena returned. After their silent communication, Serena left the ship, meeting Finella on the raised platform of the bay. This story is posted elsewhere by the author.

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"Something's happened," Finella said the moment she stopped.

"You've been in a fight," Serena pointed out.

"With Miss Liona."

"How… How did you know?" Serena pointed out Finella's spotless clothes. The clothing, along with Finella's skin, lacked even the slightest bit of dirt or sweat. It was the telltale sign of Amelia's almost miraculous cleaning magic. That bit of evidence, along with Finella's hair that had been hastily retied, meant the woman had either just slept with Amelia or was in a fight. And given her girlfriend's unquestionable loyalty to Serena, she correctly guessed it was the latter.

Pointing out the evidence, Finella held up her hands in mock surrender.

"Guilty," the Northerner said.

"There's something you should see. Best I not speak of it here."

"... Show me." Without hesitation, Finella began leading Serena through the Ishaqian streets.

"Tell me what you can."

"Aye, Captain." Finella nodded and, in a quiet voice, began explaining the course of events.

"I took the squad out, just getting the lay of the land, like you instructed. Split us into two. I took Daichi and the cadets, while Hinako and the twins went their own way. We stood out already as a large group, you see. Anyhow, we're walking past what looks like one of those establishments where goldhorns go to waste money, when Noburu suddenly nudges me and tells me it's a front."

"A front?"

"For laundering money."

"How did he know?"

"He saw the waiters carrying food had hidden weapons, and the building across the street had lookouts in. He said he saw a drainpipe down the side of the building with a hidden rope, as well as what he claimed was a hidden escape hatch. All together, it was clearly a criminal enterprise." Finella rounded a corner, and Serena followed to find they had turned into a busy market street.

"I figured we would ask around about it, see if we could find out who ran it. Judging by the appearance, it would have served the interests of one of the larger criminal groups in Ishaq, so likely one of the pirate groups. But that was a bad idea, according to Noburu."

"Is that so?" Serena raised an eyebrow.

"How so?"

"He said there are entire information networks in places like that. If we bribed or inquired about the location to a local vendor or anyone, really, that same person could earn a tidy sum by reporting our inquiries to whoever is behind the establishment. It's how criminals stay one step ahead." Finella shrugged and continued, "So Seonmi then said, 'Why don't we just go in?'""... Just go in?"

"Ha, you should have seen them!" Finella chuckled, shaking her head.

"I knew about their background, but I didn't know how convincing they could be. Noburu swapped his jacket and shoes with Daichi, you know how he has much fancier casualwear than everyone else? Well, he did that, while Seonmi did… well, I'm not exactly sure what she did. She kind of"—Finella rolled her shoulders back, adjusting her posture—"changed how she was.

In one moment, she was Seonmi, and in the next, she played the part of a highborn assistant to Noburu, who, like that"—Finella snapped her fingers—"started acting like a well-established merchant."

"They took on disguises?" Serena frowned, not sure if she liked where this was going.

"More than that. It was like they became different people. When you told me of their history, I thought how stupid you would have to be to be tricked like that. But now I get it. I'm telling you, they could join a troupe and put on plays."

"So you went in?" Finella nodded.

"They told us to follow their lead, and then they bullied their way into the establishment. Did it matter that our faces weren't known to the doorman? No. Did it matter that we didn't have a booking? No! That was all the establishment's fault, obviously. You should have seen it, Captain. I was thinking we would sneak in after dark or something, but they just walked in through the front door.

Beforehand, Noburu said the trick is to remember that by default, people believe you are whoever you say you are, and as long as you don't do anything to dispel the illusion, you can just…" Finella trailed off, waving a hand.

"Do whatever you want."

"Almost whatever you want," Serena whispered.

"I can overlook them pretending to be a merchant, but I don't want to ever hear about them pretending to be a Cascadian Lord. Not even a Lord-Prospect. That would be too far, Officer Bright." Serena wasn't sure exactly why, but something about Finella's recollection made her uneasy. Perhaps it was that the nature of Noburu's and Seonmi's actions was fundamentally dishonest, fundamentally improper, that conflicted with Serena's upbringing. Well.

She'd said she'd give them a chance, and Chesterfield had said that she would find their particular set of skills useful for the tasks ahead, so she wouldn't discount it just yet.

"Of course, Captain," Finella affirmed.

"So we get in, and order a few drinks and some food. There are loads of wealthy people in there, so we don't really look out of place, although Seonmi got a lot of looks from the men. I focused on my aura, keeping it in red but enhancing my perception as much as possible, and I'm telling you, there were far too many aura signatures in the floors above than any normal law-abiding establishment had any business having." Finella paused before quickly adding, "By the way, Ishaqian food is really weird.

They arranged all these skewers, like those in Vinay kebabs, and then they—""Stay on track," Serena interrupted.

"Right, right. Of course, Captain." They pushed through the main thick of the market. Being so close to the crowd, Finella didn't talk, even quietly, so as not to risk the chance of being overheard. Unfortunately, the surrounding Ishaqian merchants didn't get the memo and wasted no time in trying to block Serena's path and advertise their wares. Try being the operative word. Serena drew in all her former annoyance at Amelia and her scandalous purchase and channelled it up through her body and into her eyes.

The result was absolutely wonderful. Each merchant started out strong, only to shrivel up as if they were a sugarfruit under the hot gaze of the Red Moon.

"My anisa! Wouldn't you like to try… to try…"

"Lovely ladies! May I present to you… um…"

"A Northerner! My flame-haired friend, would you or your companion be… I… Uh…" After vapourising another Ishaqian merchant with a well-placed glare, they made it through the market and down a side street where they were no longer harassed.

"It's not far from here," Finella said.

"Anyway. I'm eavesdropping on everything and everyone. I wasn't planning to push it too far, but then I caught the word 'murder' spoken from above. Spoken in Imperial. Now that got my interest, so I pushed my aura a little in orange, just trying to figure out what was being discussed." Finella clenched her jaw, saying, "I only got one usable sentence before they figured out I might be listening."

"Which was?"

"I heard a man say, 'Lady Houk has the item. We'll use it during the finals, to maximise the effect.' Now I think to myself, isn't that a juicy bit of information? I admit I kind of got a bit excited, sneaking into this establishment and all, Captain. It was so much more exciting than sitting at Sensors!" Finella glanced at Serena with an expression of apologetic guilt, who did her best not to roll her eyes. Jimari coffee was Finella's main weakness. The other one was gossip.

"Who's Lady Houk?"

"A Cerulean. Runs some gambling tables where her men scam foolish gamblers into parting with their hard-earned wages. They rig the tables. Use weighted dice and mark cards. That kind of thing."

"... And how does Miss Liona fit into this?"

"While we were gathering information, Miss Liona was busy being a foolish gambler."

"Ah."

"But I'm getting ahead of myself." Finella waved a hand, saying, "So I pushed my aura a bit too far not to be suspicious. Suddenly, we're half surrounded by men with one hand in their jackets, asking us all so politely if we'd like to move tables to one for more distinguished guests."

"I'm guessing you said no."

"We said no, with a side of orange aura and a dash of Daichi's third-circle earth magic." Finella sighed.

"We may have caused a bit of a scene, but it wasn't a situation we could get out of quietly, Captain. The cadets aren't aether users, so if it turned into a slog of a fight, I couldn't guarantee they would be protected. I figured best we escalate quickly and get out of there."

"Mmm."

"You… approve?"

"Yes."

"Thank the Moons." Finella let out a breath of air, as if she'd been holding in her fear that Serena would chastise her for making a sound tactical decision. Honestly, what type of captain did Finella think she was? Before Serena could ask, Finella continued, "So we're out and we're running. We're being chased, and I'm worried the cadets would fall behind, so we lost them in the market. Last I saw of the cadets, they were slipping away into the crowd.

The ones chasing us homed in on my aether signature, so I'm sure they got away." Wait a minute, Serena thought.

"Last you saw? You're sure they got away? Have you seen them since?" Seeing Finella shake her head, Serena clicked her tongue.

"You don't think they might take this opportunity to desert? I've told you of their backgrounds; they're not here because of their overwhelming loyalty to the Empire and her allies."

"No, but they've been coming along well as members of the crew, haven't they? That's what you said, Captain," Finella quickly spoke, adding, "I did as you ordered. I put in a lot of effort to include them. Have them train with everyone, integrating them and building up relationships."

"That was on the ship," Serena pointed out.

"Where there's nowhere to run. Now they're in Ishaq, in the exact place that's notorious for crew members to abscond from their duties."

"They won't." Serena snorted.

"We'll see," she said, only slightly convinced.

"They won't, Captain. I'll bet all my coffee on it."

"Oh," Serena said, now entirely convinced.

"So tell me about Miss Liona and her gambling." Finella laughed.

"Well, you know how she's blessed by Lady Luck, Captain? Well…" Finella then went on to explain what happened with Amelia and her unbelievable dice rolls that had led her and Mel to be hauled into the office of Lady Houk herself. A year ago, Serena would have scoffed at such an unlikely chain of coincidences, but after half a year of being exposed to Amelia and her shenanigans, she knew it was best not to question it. After all, her girlfriend was a shardbearer. Normal rules didn't apply to her.

"So what's in the safe?" Serena asked. She very much doubted that Amelia had suddenly decided to become a jewel thief for the money. If she had, then it would be practically an insult, given how much her contract with House Halen was paying her.

"That's what I wanted to show you," Finella said.

"It's something best seen in person. And, uh…" Finella reached up and scratched her neck.

"Not exactly something we can parade around Ishaq. Miss Liona was trying to cloak it when I left, but it's tricky, given its nature. It's just around… Ah, here we are. Daichi should be back any moment. He's scouting the perimeter." They rounded the final corner of the darkened side street. There, in the shadows of a stout bridge, stood Amelia and Mel. They both wore uneasy expressions on their faces, but Amelia's noticeably brightened when she saw Serena.

Her girlfriend took a step forward and raised one foot, placing it against the metal safe on the floor. A metal safe that gave off a cold, alien sensation. A sensation Serena hadn't experienced since meeting Chesterfield in Shimashina. Without a doubt, she knew that within the safe was the same item that Finella had overheard being in Lady Houk's possession. An item that Serena was familiar with. A black moon crystal.

"Don't get mad," Amelia said quickly, in a manner that immediately made Serena want to pull her cheeks apart.

"I had an opportunity and took it. Really, it was their fault. This could have hurt anyone!" Amelia punctuated her statement with a kick off the safe.

"I've almost figured out how to cloak it. It's tricky. Only Kanaxai cloaks work. Everything else sort of slips off. I could force it, but then I'd break it, I think." Serena looked at her girlfriend. Honestly, what was she supposed to do?

"Can't take you anywhere," Serena finally said.

"No," Amelia replied, her face breaking out into a wide grin.

"But I'd go anyway."

"I'd hoped you would give us at least a day before doing something like this," Serena said, folding her arms in her best attempt at looking stern. She nodded to the safe, and then to Amelia.

"Finella said you had a bad feeling about it?"

"Mmm!" Amelia nodded, throwing out an enthusiastic thumbs up.

"A problem reared its head and I took the initiative to solve it!"

"... With an Amelia-sized hammer, it seems," Serena said with a mock sigh.

"Hey," Amelia said, pouting.

"I had an instinct!"

"I know," Serena said. Then she took a step forward and kicked the safe.

"Now I just need to figure out…" she trailed off, her mind trying to align itself to the chaos that had presented itself to her. Just what in the Seven Hells am I supposed to do with this?