Author's Notes:
German courtesy of Google Translate, so if anyone is a native speaker or has proficiency in the language, please correct it. Please read and review as always, thanks!
Also, this chapter might be somewhat boring for most of you because a lot of it are based on books.
(This chapter contains excerpts from Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, chapter 29 & 30.)
Everything progressed as expected. The mustached Clanker man who came down the Stormwalker, introduced only as Herr Volger, asked to meet with the Captain, and was received at the hastily cleaned aft salon. The airbeast was barely airtight and upright before some disgruntled crewmen were set about to right the more glaring bits and pieces out of place in the otherwise well-appointed room — an overturned chair here or there, the shards of the glass chandelier that had so unceremoniously crashed onto the floor, and the occasional broken teacup.
The room was quiet with civilized tension. The large negotiations table in the salon, which normally seated twelve, was now two-thirds occupied, and the Clankers were presently looking about every which way, examining the fabricated wooden furniture and the decor.
At the head of the table sat the Captain, with Dr. Barlow on his right and Dr. Busk on his left. The First Lieutenant and Master Sergeant sat further down from Dr. Busk, while Kate herself sat next to Dr. Barlow. Herr Volger was smiling amiably directly across from the Captain, while Alek sat to his right, creating an odd sit-off of sorts. In numbers the Darwinists seemed superior, but in aura Kate thought Volger was every bit as intimidating and powerful as the Captain or Dr. Barlow.
A junior lieutenant brought a tray up from the kitchens — reorganized and staffed in equal haste as the salon had been — with jugs of steaming black coffee and milk, and a small pot of sugar. Kate had to admire the efficiency. The British were certainly very good at keeping up appearances.
"I hope you won't mind coffee," the Captain said as they were served. "It's a bit early for brandy, and cigars are strictly forbidden."
"And there are ladies present," Dr. Barlow said with a smile.
"Well, of course," the Captain muttered, clearing his throat and giving her a tiny bow, probably uneasy at how the circumstances had changed. If it weren't before, it was now clear to all the officers that the Clankers in front of them held the entire ship's greatest chances of survival.
"Coffee is more than welcome," Alek said. "I haven't slept much."
"It has been a long night for us all," the Captain agreed.
The boy turned and muttered to Volger in quiet German, most likely translating. The man smiled and nodded to them all, and then said quietly, "Denken Sie jeder von ihnen sprechen unsure Sprache?"
Kate had had a little bit of German, enough to recognize a few words here or there. Sprache, for example, meant language. She glanced at Dr. Barlow, who was passively toying with her cup of coffee, showing no emotion on her face, even though Kate explicitly remembered seeing a copy of a heavily annotated Grundsätze der Wanderpanzer on the scientist's shelf back in her office at the Zoological Society. She smiled to herself.
Alek answered the man in a quiet whisper as well, and this time Kate caught the words Frau and Latin. Volger muttered something back, and his gaze rested on Dr. Barlow's bowler hat. Kate was rather glad of her own insistence on not wearing one of the ridiculous things, as it let her blend into the background as simply Dr. Barlow's attendant.
"Well, then," the Captain said. "Let me start by apologizing for any rough treatment. In wartime we have to suspect the worst of an intruder."
"No harm done," Alek said, with a slight wry smile on his face.
"But I must admit, we're still confused about who you are." The Captain cleared his throat. "That is an Austrian Stormwalker, is it not?"
Alek translated for Volger. The man said a long string of words back, evidently a reply.
"We are political opponents of the emperor," Alek said after Volger was done. "He has seized the war as an opportunity to get rid of his enemies. We didn't desert; we had no choice but to run."
"But who exactly are you?" Dr. Barlow asked when he was done, her tone slightly pointed. "Household retainers? Or are you Hapsburgs yourselves?"
Kate waited expectantly, to see how the two would respond.
"Was sollen wir ihnen sagen, Graf?" Alek asked Volger.
Kate frowned. Graf. Nobility. Dr. Barlow also blinked almost imperceptibly, but remained straight-faced.
A flurry of whispers ensued between the two Clankers, then Alek looked about nervously, before answering them. "We prefer not to discuss such a thing with foreigners. We are neutral in this war, and have no grudge against a shipwrecked crew."
"Most mysterious," said Dr. Barlow, cocking an eyebrow.
"But that is enough reassurance for now," Dr. Busk said, leaning forward. "Perhaps you can help us. What we need is quite simple: food. Lots of it."
Kate chimed in. "And lenses to focus sunlight, pumps, and mechanical parts that you can spare."
Alek shrugged and relayed this to Volger. The man — the Count — said something in return. They continued back-and-forth in this manner, speaking so quickly that Kate's limited German was no longer enough to grasp the gist. Finally, Volger smiled and said something that sounded like "Mein jungen Freund", and the discussion was at a close.
Alek took a breath. "We're happy to give you food and the necessary equipment," he said. "What kind does your ship need?"
"Raw meat and fruit are the best," Dr. Barlow said. "Anything a bird would eat. Sugar and honey are useful for our bees, and we can dissolve starches, like flour, in the gastric channel."
"But how much?" Alek asked. "You mentioned tons," he said, rather glumly.
"Yes," Dr. Busk said. "Six or seven tons in all should provide enough hydrogen."
That number was evidently beyond Alek's expectation. He gulped a little.
"I'm afraid we have no… honey," he said. "But lots of sugar, meat, and flour. Will dried fruit do?"
Dr. Busk nodded. "Our bats are very happy with dried fruit."
Alek shuddered visibly as he translated for Volger, and Kate smiled a little as she remembered the boy's obvious fear of all fabrications.
"What about your equipment?" Alek asked.
Kate thought for a moment. "Magnifying lenses, rubber pipes, electrical or mechanical pumps. I'll have to see what you have to decide for sure."
Alek nodded and was back to conversing with Volger. The man nodded authoritatively after some moments. "We'll trade you the food and equipment for my freedom," Alek translated, directly to the Captain, with an air of an official offer.
The Captain frowned. "We'll be happy to send you home, of course. Once we have the food and equipment in hand."
"I'm afraid you'll have to release me now." Alek glanced at Volger. "My family will stand for nothing less."
Kate raised an eyebrow. Family. The ease at which Alek said this made it clear he truly considered the Clanker count a member of his family. So almost certainly an aristocrat himself… more and more pieces of the puzzle were fitting together.
Dr. Barlow smiled. "Their concern for you is touching, Alek. But there is one problem. Once you're no longer our guest, that Walker could easily destroy us."
"I suppose so," the boy said. He turned and discussed with Volger, who shot something back. Alek shook his head and exclaimed something with a lot of Nicht in it, before finally acquiescing. But then Volger held up a hand, and muttered an addendum.
Alek smiled. "Volger will stay in my place," he said. "And we shall require a… guest in return. Perhaps you, Captain?"
"I should think not," said the First Lieutenant, sounding scandalized. "The Captain is needed here."
"As are my officers and crew," the Captain said. "This is a wounded ship. I'm afraid we don't have anyone to spare."
Alek folded his arms. "Then I'm afraid we have no food to spare."
It was astounding to see the boy who was afraid of messenger rats be so up front and forceful in situations of diplomacy, and that was perhaps as much evidence as anyone needed to confirm his high noble birth. But then again, this was all conjecture and no real evidence, and in any event, Kate was not sure how the Captain would respond to the news of Alek's genealogy if he were truly the late Archduke's surviving son, and Dr. Barlow probably thinks the same. It was better to not take any risks.
"Well," Dr. Barlow said finally. "The answer is obvious. I —"
"I'll go," Kate said.
Everyone turned and stared at her.
"You?" the Captain sputtered.
"Yes. Dr. Barlow is too important to leave the ship, obviously, but I'm at liberty. I'm also a member of the Zoological Society, and I think I can be of value enough to this ship to serve as an exchange hostage. Of sorts."
Dr. Barlow looked like she wanted to say something, but nodded in the end. "Very well."
The Captain wasn't convinced. "Don't be absurd!" he said. "We can't send you."
"And why is that?"
"Well, you're an important personnel on a mission, and hardly of appropriate age —"
"Part of my mission requires lens and pumps, which I shall have to check for myself before we decide what to take. And I'm familiar with a hydrogen breather's shipborne ecosystem, so I'll know what food we require." Kate decided to ignore the part about age. A fair number of the crew was about her age, but of course they were boys so nobody gave much thought about their youth.
The whole table began to argue at this point. Someone suggested sending a junior officer, but of course the Clankers didn't see that as an equal trade, at least compared to a fabricator. In any event, everything kept coming back to knowing what and what not to take. There were a lot of voices for Dr. Busk, until Dr. Barlow sighed.
"Enough. Dr. Busk doubles as the ship's physician, so he's also too important to risk. Now, I suggest we have a member of the crew accompany Dr. Cruse, so all of you will be quiet unless you want me to go with her, which I've half a mind to do."
And that shut them all up quite nicely.
Across the table, Alek blinked.
"I suppose that's settled then? Will there be anyone else?"
ooo
"Why are you Clankers so barking obsessed with all this metal?" Dylan Sharp said as he climbed into the small cramped pilot's cabin aboard the Stormwalker. "And it smells barking odd in here."
"Kerosene," Kate said. "And gunpowder. And, well, metal."
"A barking lot of rusting waiting to happen, if you ask me," mumbled Dylan.
Alek growled from his pilot's seat. Kate thought she heard a faint "Nobody asked you" before the Austrian boy turned to his controls.
"I saw a castle up high," Dylan continued, undaunted. "I suppose that's your home, aye?"
This time Alek paid the Scottish boy no mind, and instead shouted into a speaking tube. A moment later, with a jerk and a roar, the engine started.
The welcome hadn't exactly been warm when they'd come aboard. In fact, Kate had only glimpsed two other crew member before they stared at her like she was some monster, then disappeared into the guts of the abominable machine. Only Alek remained on the bridge.
Was Alek not as important to his people as they had previously assumed?
Not likely, she decided. It was probably just underestimation. A woman and a half-grown boy, the Clankers probably thought, would not be able to do anything even if they'd wanted to. The lad was high born, though, that's for sure. The other Clankers seemed to treat him with respect, as both a pilot and as perhaps the subject of their loyalty. Alek stepped into the saunters with the ease of many hours of practice, and gave commands in German. The machine didn't quite do anything at first, but then he moved, and suddenly they were off.
The rush of wind through the tiny viewport quickly picked up as they gained speed, generating a whooshing sort of noise that was then drowned out by the walker's engines. Clanker engineering was a brutal strive for efficiency, and usually gave no thought to comfort; the engine emitted deep rumbles, metals grating against each other, creaks and groans, hisses of steam, and altogether a deafening cacophony that made one wish very much for a pair of earplugs.
"Barking spiders!" said Dylan in a cry of surprise. "It's tipsy in here! And loud!"
"What did you expect?" Alek snapped. "It's a Stormwalker, not the puny things on your ship you Darwinists call engines."
"We've got perfectly fine engines," Dylan said, affronted. "Yours are the ones that are too heavy and too slow." He gestured all around, waving his hand for emphasis.
"Too slow!" Alek cried, equally affronted. "You call this slow? Why do you Darwinists refuse to see the truth?"
He cranked a lever, pulled back a little, before renewing his stride with a degree of vehemence. The Stormwalker lurched alarmingly forward, but then the other leg caught up and they started to run through the glacial ice like some gigantic ostrich. The pilot humphed and looked back at Dylan with a cold haughty expression.
"Runs fast, for a rooster," Dylan grumbled, but without much conviction. Nobody could now doubt the walker's speed; Kate guessed perhaps sixty miles per hour, although it was difficult to tell with the viewport being so small and the surroundings being so featureless. Still, it was quite impressive for something that seemed so ungainly, and on ice no less.
"It does not walk like a rooster," Alek said, turning back, evidently still indignant.
"Mr. Sharp, I think it would be better to refrain from bringing up the technological rivalry here, of all places," Kate said quietly to the boy. "They are our hosts and partners, after all."
"For now," Dylan said gruffly, but he stayed relatively silent for the rest of the journey.
It wasn't fifteen minutes when a small outcropping of rocks jutted into view, and with it the crumbling castle perched atop. The stones were mostly covered with snow and ice, and the front gate was solid steel, ancient and frosted but sturdy-looking, like it would always be ready to endure a siege.
"That must be their home you saw, Mr. Sharp," Kate said.
"Aye, though it looks to be in a sorrier state than I thought I'd seen."
"It is meant to be hidden," Alek said drily.
"And an effective camouflage it has," Kate remarked. From the outside the castle looked nothing remotely close to inhabited. The snow around it was mostly pristine except for the walker trails, and even the roofs were heavy with layers of snow, giving the appearance of an abandoned ruin.
Alek slowed the Stormwalker to a walk and trotted up the hillside. Carefully he aimed the machine at the open doorway and took even smaller steps.
"Will this thing even fit?" Dylan said, peering out of the viewport. "Seems a bit tight to me."
"How do you think we got it out, then?" Alek snapped.
Dylan shrugged. "By smashing it through, since you're Clankers. You should consider getting a bigger door."
Alek scowled again, and pushed forth the saunters. A moment later the hull screeched against the frame of the doorway, and he winced.
"Told you," said Dylan, as Alek flushed.
Kate sighed. She was beginning to doubt the wisdom of choosing Mr. Sharp as her escort.
Once the Stormwalker was parked, which all but stuffed the small courtyard full, they climbed down through the hatch on its belly. The cold winds outside were mostly blocked by the walls, and the castle even had a cozy feel to it. The two other crew members were finally properly introduced, not being able to hide in the gunner's deck as it were; an old wizened mechanic called Herr Klopp, and a much younger soldier named Bauer.
Kate looked at the sky. It was still early morning, the trek here having taken scarcely twenty minutes (probably in part due to Alek's haste), but there was a lot to be done. She turned to their host.
"I'd like to see your pantry, please."
ooo
Neither of them were quite ready for the sight beyond those solid oak doors. The storage room stretched on into the gloom, boxes and barrels of food and drink and other supplies seemingly endless.
"How many are you again?" Dylan asked, eyeing the vast storage with raised brows. Down here, the chill of the glacier was left to seep in freely, for refrigeration Kate supposed, and their breaths formed white mists in the air.
"Just five," said Alek. "But we're well-provisioned."
"You don't say."
"But you couldn't have brought all this in your machine," Kate said, squinting and trying to make out the store room's far end.
"We didn't. It was waiting here, just in case."
"In case of certain… family squabbles?" Kate smiled. "How prescient."
Alek didn't answer, but he gritted his teeth.
She wanted to probe a little more, but Dylan was walking ahead, inspecting the labels. "These are all in barking Clanker," he said. "I hope you can read it, ma'am."
"A little," Kate admitted. "But we cannot afford mistakes. Alek, you'll have to translate for me. I'm not so well-versed in my German as Dr. Barlow." She pulled out a notepad and a safety pen, and waited for the Austrian boy to go ahead. Instead, he had stared at her with a degree of dismay.
"Dr. Barlow knows German?"
"Oh yes. She's quite fluent."
"I'm surprised she didn't have a chat with Volger."
"Let's not pretend to be surprised. You guessed it, did you not?"
The boy sighed. "Why are you fabricators so… fluent in everything?"
"Our field requires us to be so. German is an important language in the sciences."
"Well, I'm glad you think our science is worth reading."
Kate shrugged. "We borrow as much from your engineering as you do from ours."
"Us, borrow from Darwinists?" Alek snorted. "How absurd."
"Aye, it's true," Dylan spoke up from across the room. "Mr. Rigby says you Clankers wouldn't have invented walking machines without our example to follow."
"Of course we would have!" Alek said, though he seemed a little uncertain.
"Perhaps," Kate said placatingly. "But for now, come help me read these labels."
ooo
Deciding what food to take had been simple enough. Foodstuffs with a highest caloric content were the most effective at helping the airbeast recover, so most of the sweet things went, as well as starchy foods and meat. They nearly emptied two store rooms before the quota was filled, and everyone came to help, carrying endless streams of supplies out into the courtyard, where a slab of the door became a makeshift sledge to be pulled by the Stormwalker.
The machinery were a little harder to procure. The old mechanic Herr Klopp had been very reluctant to show Kate his store of parts, and even those had been rather meager. In the end Kate found a crate of rubber hosing, a water pump originally intended for dealing with snowmelt, and some broken telescopes for their magnifying lenses. She wasn't at all sure if these would be enough to start up the promethacytes, but she thought it wouldn't hurt to try when every bit of lifting power mattered.
It was rather ironic, really; there had been plans to implement the promethacyte system into the Leviathan on their return trip, but nobody expected it to be this soon. The war was hurrying everything along.
The loading had taken them the better part of the day, and currently old Klopp was welding on a chain from the sledge to the Stormwalker. The rest of them were resting, though Kate was going through the checklist one last time to make sure they had everything needed.
"Can your contraption really pull all that?" Dylan asked. He was sitting on a box of canned fruit and squinting at the machine in front, sketching. Alek, for all his dislike of Darwinists, was sitting on another crate nearby.
"Master Klopp says it should slide easily on the snow," the Austrian boy answered. "The trick is to not break the chains."
"Well, it's not a bad job. I'll have to admit you Clankers are clever-boots with machines."
"I'm glad you're finally not arguing anymore," Kate remarked drily. Dylan shrugged.
"Aye, the machines are impressive. But I'd take an animal any day; does the job better."
"Better?" Alek said. "I doubt one of your fabricated creatures could pull this load."
Kate sighed. "And here we go again." She shook her head and decided to go inside to try to walk off the chill. Behind her, the two boys began to argue once more.
The castle was very well-appointed, for an emergency shelter, and even with all the food they've taken was stocked enough to afford a relatively extravagant lifestyle for the inhabitants. Inside the main room, a fire was burning slowly in the hearth, and comfortable-looking wooden seats were arranged in a semicircle around it. Kate picked one and sat down, letting out a sigh and enjoying the fire's warmth. She was looking forward to dinner; an entire day spent looking at a wide array of different foods made one quite hungry, especially since the Leviathan's mess often wasn't very good.
Her thoughts turned to Matt and his training tour in the mountains nearby. She wondered if the war had managed to affect him at all yet, though most likely not. The Polaris Division was unlike to have a civilian join their operations, not to mention that those were supposed to be secret. She sighed, absent-mindedly thumbing her ring.
She must have dozed off soon after, because the next thing she knew, Dylan Sharp was shaking her urgently, his blue eyes wide with panic.
"Ma'am! We've got to go! Hurry!"
"What's the matter Dylan?" Kate said, a little groggy. "Is the welding done?"
"No, we took the chain off; the walker's waiting."
Kate frowned. "Why? Was there something wrong with the chain?"
"No! We're going back. The Germans are coming!"
