Pendragon - The Lost City Of Faar Part 10

I barely slept all night. The thought of territorywide famine made it a little hard to have sweet dreams. There were too many thoughts banging around in my head, so I decided to finish my journal to you. Writing always makes me sleepy, and this time was no different. I got as far as telling you that Magorran and Grallion had collided, and couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. So I rolled up the pages and sent them on to you. It wasn't until the next morning that I realized what a cliffhanger I had written. Again, sorry.

I laid back down on my bunk and finally got a few z's. But soon the sun was brightening the sky on a new day, the day we would leave Grallion.

The memorial service was scheduled for shortly after sunrise. I didn't know what to expect, but it turned out to be a pretty emotional moment. It took place on the stern of the habitat, away from the destruction up front. Everyone on Grallion was there. We stayed with the farm workers, the vators, who pretty much kept together in one large group. The aquaneers were lined up along the stern, shoulder to shoulder, in full dress uniform. Spader was among them. It had to be tough for him to stand there, but he did it. Good man.

The pilot of Grallion, a leathery-looking gray-haired guy named Quinnick, led the ceremony. I won't write down all that was said, but as you can imagine, it was pretty intense. He spoke about the dedication of those who serve others, and the harsh reality that all life must one day come to an end. He spoke glowingly of the crew and workers of Magorran, and about how they would never be forgotten.

Then an aquaneer stepped forward and began to play an instrument that looked to be made from a large piece of coral. It was a wind instrument, and though it seemed pretty crude, the sound it made was sweet, like an oboe. The tune he played was haunting and sad. It was a fitting send-off to the poor people of Magorran.

But it was short-lived because suddenly, without warningaboom!

An explosion rocked Grallion only a few yards from where we stood. The crowd didn't react immediately. Everyone just sort of looked around, stunned, not knowing what was happening.

Boom! Boom!

Two more explosions rocked the habitat, chewing up pieces of deck and dirt. People started to scatter and run for cover. We were under attack, but from where?

The answer came from Wu Yenza. She stood on the stern and yelled out,"Raiders!"

Raiders? What were raiders? The only raiders I knew were from Oakland. I looked off the stern and had my answer. There was a s.h.i.+p powering toward us. It wasn't a habitat, it was a battles.h.i.+p, and its giant guns were trained on us. These guys weren't from Oakland.

Things were turning very sour, very fast here on Cloral.

(CONTINUED).

CLORAL.

We were under attack.

Most people on deck scrambled for cover and I was one of them. Uncle Press and I stuck with a group of vators who fled to the building that held most of the farming equipment. That wouldn't give much protection, but it was better than standing out in the open with bombs raining down!

As we ran more missiles pounded the deck and blasted dirt and water everywhere. Yes, water. These weren't your everyday, ordinary cannonb.a.l.l.s. Remember, this was Cloral. Everything here had to do with water. I soon found out that the giant guns on the battles.h.i.+p were actually huge water cannons that fired big, dense b.a.l.l.s of water. But when these water missiles. .h.i.t, they were every bit as destructive as a steel sh.e.l.l. And they could fire round after round without fear of running out of ammunition. After all, their ammunition was water, and there was an infinite supply around these parts. What made it even more frightening was that there was no sound. The guns didn't let out a giant roar when they fired, so it was impossible to prepare for a strike. The first clue that a water missile was about to hit was a faint whistling sound, and then it hit.

About a dozen of us crowded into the equipment shed and scrambled to the windows to look out on the action.

I looked to Uncle Press and said, "Raiders? What's the deal?"

Uncle Press didn't know. This was a wrinkle he wasn't prepared for.

"I have never seen them attack a habitat this large," one vator said with more than a touch of fear. "They usually prey on small vessels."

"What do they want?" I asked.

"Whatever we have," came the simple answer. "And they're not afraid to kill for it."

Gulp. I looked out the window to see that the aquaneers were scrambling to defend the habitat. These guys weren't just sailors, they were trained in using weapons as well. They moved fast and efficiently as they took up defensive positions facing the incoming cruiser. But the only weapons they had were the silver rifles I saw back on Magorran. They didn't have big cannons or missile launchers or firepower of any kind that could stand up to the barrage from the raiders' huge water guns. Their rifles seemed like, well, they seemed like water pistols compared to the mighty a.r.s.enal they faced.

"Why isn't Grallion armed?" I asked the vator.

"I told you," he answered. "The raiders have never been so bold. There was never a reason to be armed. Until now," added Uncle Press soberly.

All my romantic notions about pirates were just blown away, no pun intended. To me pirates were charming rogues who drank grog and chased wenches and s.h.i.+vered me timbers and were basically comical characters in search of treasure. But these weren't Disney pirates. The guys firing on us were killers.Boldkillers. They were attacking an unarmed farming habitat with over two hundred people on board. But for what? There were no riches on Grallion. What could they possibly want?

Then the barrage of missiles stopped. We took a look at the battle cruiser and saw that it had pulled to within a few hundred yards of Grallion. Its guns were still aimed at us, but they were no longer firing for the time being.

The s.h.i.+p looked very much like a battles.h.i.+p from home, though of course there were no military markings. It was a light green color that made it blend in with the green water. I counted eight water cannons in all. Four front and four back. I wondered what their next step was. Were they going to board us? That wouldn't make sense because any advantage they had with their big guns would be lost once they set foot onboard. There were plenty of aquaneers with rifles to give them a hard time if they set foot on our deck. No, the advantage these bad guys had was from a distance.

Then, a booming, amplified voice came from the battle cruiser.

"Good morning, Grallion! I trust we have your attention."

It was a man's voice and he actually sounded cheery. He could have been calling to a neighbor over the backyard fence to talk about the Yankees.

"My name is Zy Roder, pilot and chief of the good s.h.i.+pPursuit.Perhaps you've heard of me?"

The more I listened to this guy's booming voice, the more my stomach twisted. I looked to Uncle Press and his grim expression told me he was feeling the same way. Near us, a vator had been watching the cruiser through a spygla.s.s. The moment we heard the voice coming from the raiders' s.h.i.+p, Uncle Press approached the man and asked if he could borrow the telescope. The worker obliged and Uncle Press took a closer look at our new nemesis.

"If you have heard of me," the voice continued, "then you know I am a fair man. I wish no harm on anyone."

Uncle Press saw what he needed to see, then handed me the spygla.s.s. I took it and looked out at the cruiser. The crew of the s.h.i.+p he calledPursuitwere all on deck. There was a mix of men and women, which meant that at least raiders weren't s.e.xist. They weren't all torn up and scuzy looking the way you think of movie pirates either. No, just the opposite. These guys looked like an organized, b.u.t.toned-up crew. But the way they stared at Grallion made me think of a pack of hungry wolves, patiently waiting to strike. Their stares were blank and lacked any human emotion, except for maybe greed.

I moved the spygla.s.s until I found the man called Zy Roder. He stood on the uppermost deck, holding something dark that I could only guess was a microphone. Like all the raiders, Zy Roder wore the same kind of lightweight clothing that everyone wore here on Grallion. He was a tall guy, with shoulder-length blond hair that blew around in the sea breeze. You might even call him handsome. He stood with his legs apart defiantly, with one hand on his hip. Pretty c.o.c.ky. This was a guy who was used to getting what he wanted. I wondered what it was he wanted from us.

But the thing that struck me most about him was his eyes. Even though I was looking through a spygla.s.s, I could see they were the same, icy blue eyes that I had grown to fear. There was no mistake.

It was Saint Dane.

He had arrived on Cloral and taken up with a band of outlaw marauders. The question now became, what was his next move? I handed the spygla.s.s back to the vator. I didn't want to watch anymore.

"By now you must know of the horrible disease that is spreading throughout Cloral," he continued. "Our food is being poisoned. Why? I have no idea. But I do know that safe food will soon grow scarce."

This was Saint Dane all right. He was doing what he did best, spreading fear.

"Our request is simple. The food on Grallion is safea so far. You have so much, and we so little. These are my terms. Load ten of your largest transfer barges with grain, fruit, and vegetables. Send each barge out to us with a single aquaneer. We will take the barges and leave you in peace."

The farm workers around us erupted in protest. They complained that ten barges of food would wipe Grallion out for weeks. Worse, if they gave up all their supply of safe food, then what would be left for them to eat? Already, the fear of tainted food coming in from the outside was suspect. Who could blame them, after what happened on Magorran?

"If you refuse us," Zy Roder continued, "then we will resume our attack." The man now grew more intense. Gone was the pleasant voice of a fellow sailor. Saint Dane or Zy Roder - whatever he called himself here - wanted the people of Grallion to understand what he was capable of.

"We cannot sink Grallion, but that is not our intent. We will begin with your pilot house. It will be obliterated so that you will have no control of your habitat. Then we will destroy your docks so you will be trapped. We will target your engine rooms so you will have no power. You will be prisoners on your own habitat, with no means of escape. Trust me, friends, we know where you are most vulnerable and we will not leave until our demands are met."

This was pure Saint Dane. He probably didn't even care about getting the food. What he wanted was to cause panic. The word would spread quickly among the habitats that the food supply on Cloral was suspect, and that would create chaos as normally peaceful people would start to fight over the dwindling supply of fresh food. My guess is that Saint Dane probably had something to do with poisoning the food supply as well. His plan for toppling Cloral was beginning to become clear.

"I will give you one peck of time to begin the transfer," his voice boomed. "If I see no sign of your compliance, we will open fire. So until then, enjoy your day!"

What was a peck? Was that an hour? A minute? A second? Uncle Press read my mind and said, "Twenty minutes, in case you were wondering."

Saint Dane had one more thought. "Oh, one last thing," his voice boomed. "Welcome to Clorala Pendragon."

Yikes. My knees buckled, which I'm sure was the exact reaction Saint Dane wanted. He knew we were here. Luckily, the other vators had more to worry about than why this pirate had given me a personal greeting. That would have been hard to explain. So instead of questioning me, they all started chattering at once. Half argued to give him the food, the other half wanted to fight. Neither choice was a good one.

"At least we know a little about his plan now," said Uncle Press, trying to sound positive.

"Yeah, big deal," I shot back. "What are we going to do about it?"

At that moment Spader burst into the shack. He looked around quickly until he saw us. "Press, Pendragon, come!" he shouted.

Neither of us knew what else to do, so we followed. Once outside we saw that Spader was off and running. He led us down to the same floating docks where we first arrived on Grallion. The area was deserted because all the other aqua-neers were up on deck, ready to defend their habitat.

He ran to the end of one dock and jumped onto his skimmer. We finally caught up to him. I shouted, "What are you doing?"

While he spoke Spader busily prepared the skimmer for a trip.

"My father taught me everything there is to know about every s.h.i.+p on the sea," he said quickly. "I know about that raider cruiser, thePursuit.There were only a few built, back when the aquaneers feared there might be a war between the habitats. They even built wars.h.i.+ps that traveled underwater. But the war never happened and the cruisers and submarines were never used - except for a few that got hijacked by raiders."

"What's the point, Spader?" asked Uncle Press.

Spader stopped working and looked up at us. "I know where she's vulnerable. I can scuttle the guns."

"How?" I asked in disbelief.

"Simple. There are two intake ports below the waterline. That's where they bring in water for power and ammunition. If I drive a skimmer into an intake port, it'll jam up the works. No water, no guns. It'll be dead in the water and we can take her!"

"Did you tell Yenza about this?" asked Uncle Press.

"She wouldn't listen. She thinks I'm off my cake."

"Are you off your cake?" I asked.

Spader jumped off his skimmer and back onto the dock. He stood across from us and spoke with sincerity.

"Ever since you turned up here, I've had a feeling," he said. "First you, Press, then later when you came back with Pendragon. I feel like you two mates are here for more than just picking fruit. Am I right? Are the three of us in for a natty-do, or am I just shooting fish?"

It seemed Spader had some rumblings about his future as a Traveler after all. He didn't know much, he could only sense it, but it was there just the same. His father probably taught him many things to prepare him for this moment, just as Uncle Press did for me. Whatever it is that makes one a Traveler, it was starting to kick in.

"Are you with me?" Spader asked.

"More than you know," answered Uncle Press. "What's your plan?"

Spader jumped back down onto his skimmer.

"Press, stay here. Get to Yenza. Tell her what we're doing. When the intake ports are jammed up, I'll send up a signal with this flare."

He held up a small pistol that was probably a flare gun.

"This flare won't go up until thePursuitis crippled," he added. "Then Yenza can take a crew and board her before the raiders figure out what happened."

"What about me?" I asked.

"You're getting pretty good under the water, mate," he said.

"Whoa! You want me to go with you? Under that cruiser?"

"I told you, there aretwointake ports. I can't hit *em both at the same time."

I looked to Uncle Press, hoping he'd bail me out of this suicide mission. He didn't.

"Are you up to this, Bobby?" he asked.

No! I wasn't!

"It'll be easy, mate," said Spader. "They won't be looking underwater. All we have to do is sneak up from below, wrench off the intake covers and send in a couple of skimmers. Snappy-do!"

It did sound easy. I spent a lot of time underwater with Spader and I was pretty confident down there. Maybe I could do this after all.

"I don't suppose there's a plan B?" I asked Uncle Press.

"Not this time," he answered. "Unless you've got one."

I didn't. I was going underwater.

"Wait for the flare!" shouted Spader.

"Be careful!" Uncle Press shouted back as he ran back up the stairs toward the deck.

Yeah, careful. That was a joke, right?

Spader opened the cargo carrier that was behind his skimmer and pulled out two water sleds and two air globes. He threw one air globe to me and stowed the two water sleds in the floor compartment of his skimmer. He then unhooked the cargo carrier so he wouldn't have to drag it along.

"Are those water sleds big enough to do the job?" I asked.

"Nah, those are for our getaway," said Spader.

"Then what are we going to use to jam the intake ports?"

Spader jumped from his skimmer onto another that was right next to it. He threw a few toggle switches and the engines whined to life.

"You take my skimmer," he said.

This didn't make a whole lot of sense. If we were going to sneak up on the raiders' cruiser from underwater, then why were we each taking a skimmer? They may be fast, but Saint Dane and his crew would see us coming for sure.

Spader put his air globe over his head and it instantly conformed to him. I did the same. I jumped onto the skimmer and started to power it up. Finally I couldn't take it anymore and asked, "Won't they see us coming?"

Spader pointed to a black toggle switch that was under the steering column.

"They would - if we were on top of the water."

He flipped the black toggle and a rush of air bubbles blew out from under his skimmer. Then it started to sink. Spader looked at me and smiled. I found the same switch on my skimmer, and threw it. The same thing happened. Slowly my skimmer submerged. As it turned out, these babies didn't just fly over the water, they traveled underwater, too!