Chapter 13, Alexis's in Wonderland
By
UCSBdad
Disclaimer: Still don't own Castle. Rating: M, in places. Time: Set after my story Four of a Kind.
Chapter 13. On to Barsoom!
"Look what's coming after them!" Rodgers pointed past the bow of Chasseur.
"Those ships are big." Castle said.
"Damn big."
The sailor in the crow's nest called down. "Sir, the nearer one looks to be a frigate and a pretty big one. Maybe forty guns or so. Following that one is a three decker."
"A three decker has how many guns?" Kate asked.
"Fifty to sixty per side. Worse, they have cannons that can fire sixty to seventy pound cannon balls. Those could do us damage if they got lucky."
"Let's make damned sure they don't get lucky." Rick said, taking Kate's hand.
"What're all the small boats doing in front of the frigate?" Simone asked.
Rodgers peered through his binoculars, then smiled. "Some of them are towing the frigate and the rest are kedging it."
"Kedging?" Castle wondered if his information virus had been complete.
"It's one way to get a sailing ship moving when there's little or no wind. You use a longboat or two to run an anchor out as far as your anchor cable reaches, drop anchor and then you pull the ship up to where the anchor is. Only works in shallow water, obviously."
"So if we shoot up the boats…?
"We can tow Revenge out of danger. I hope." Rodgers turned to the drummer, who anticipating action, took his place near the captain. "Beat to quarters." As the drum rolled, the crew quickly made their way to their duty stations.
Rodgers raised his voice so all could hear him. "We'll shoot up the boats towing the frigate first, then we'll switch to the frigate. Lastly, we'll take a few long range shots at the ship of the line to discourage her."
Using her engines and not her sails, Chasseur bore down on the ship's boats towing the frigate. The boats had begun to retreat to the frigate when they saw a ship with no sails heading for them. They were too late. Fifty millimeter shells and rifle bullets tore into the small boats and their crews, destroying both. Chasseur turned away from the frigate so as to pass her a few hundred yards away; further than the usual range of the frigates smooth bore, muzzle loading cannons, but in easy range of Chasseur's modern weapons.
Some forty rounds fired into the frigate damaged her rigging, hull and weapons as well as starting a small fire. That ship would be out of action for a while.
Rodgers ordered Chasseur to make for the three decker which was now trying to turn and head for safety. By the time Chasseur caught up with the larger Spanish ship, they were both on more or less the same course, with Chasseur about four hundred yards to the landward. As Chasseur opened fire, the Spanish ship fired as well.
A twenty four pound iron ball travelling at several hundred feet per second didn't have the power to punch through Chasseur's modern ceramic matrix hull. Such balls were able to punch through the sails, cut lines and damage other parts of the ship. One ball, however, proved deadly. Striking the muzzle of one of Chasseur's fifty millimeter guns, the force drove the gun backwards and across the deck, killing and wounding crewmen as well as destroying the gun that it hit and anything else in the loose cannon's way.
For a moment, everyone on the quarterdeck stood there in shock. Then Castle and Kate ran towards the wounded. The first three men they came to were beyond help. Kate knelt by a man whose leg was gone just below the knee. Grabbing a length of rope, she fashioned a tourniquet to stop the flow of blood and waited for the ship's doctor.
While she did that, Castle tried to stop the flow of blood from a sailor whose stomach had taken a large iron fragment that had broken off of the Spanish cannon ball. It was no use, his eyes rolled back in his head and he was gone. Castle moved on to the next man.
The remaining gunners doubled their efforts on the ship of the line and were rewarded with a series of fires aboard her. As the sails on the Spaniard began to burn, Rodgers ordered the gun crews to cease fire. In the heat of battle, the crews kept firing until Rodgers and the other officers and petty officers had to drag the gunners from their guns.
"She's finished, one way or another." The captain said loudly. "Now we need to concentrate on our mission. Recovering an Alexis Castle."
Chasseur turned and again sailed past the Spanish frigate. The fire had been extinguished but in the meantime, the ship's mainmast had fallen and was now hanging over the side held to the ship by the ship's rigging. Neither ship fired as they passed.
Seen up close, Revenge was in worse shape than they had thought. One mast had fallen since they had first seen her and dead crewman littered the deck. What was left of the crew was manning the pumps, trying to keep her afloat. It looked like a lost cause to Rodgers.
"There!" Castle cried, pointing.
Through their binoculars, they could see a slim, redheaded figure at the ship's wheel. It was Alexis. She wore a torn green dress that once had come to her ankles, but now showed most of one leg. Around her slim waist was a red sash, over which was a sword belt holding a rapier. Tucked under the belt was a brace of large pistols.
As Chasseur drew up next to Revenge. "Captain Ashley, I presume?" Rodgers called over the few yards that separated the ships.
A bearded, bare chested man stuck his head up. "Who wants to know?"
"Captain Rodgers, Chasseur, privateer out of Baltimore."
"I thought your ship looked familiar. Baltimore clippers stand out from the normal ruck one sees."
"You are Captain Ashley?" Rodgers called back.
"Aye." Ashley smiled. "I am until Revenge sinks under me and I become plain Mr. Ashley."
"Perhaps you and your crew would care to come aboard Chasseur?"
"What the devil did you do to those two Spaniards?"
"Kept them from capturing you and hanging you and your crew."
Ashley nodded. "That you did." He turned to Alexis who had moved over to stand by him. "What do you think, love?"
Alexis stared across at the five people gathered on the quarterdeck. "I think that two of my father are standing over there. And I also think that we'll never be able to swim to shore since the current's against us and Revenge won't last much longer. We may as well."
Chasseur laid alongside of Revenge and what was left of the crew came across on a gangplank. Alexis, at once walked over to Castle and Rodgers. "I didn't know that my father had two identical brothers."
"He doesn't." Rodgers replied. "Perhaps if you and Captain Ashely would come to the great cabin, we could explain."
Ashley an Alexis exchanged a look, then shrugged. "May as well." Ashley said.
Once in the cabin, the five explained who they were, where they were from and why they were looking for Alexis.
Ashely looked around the table in the great cabin at his hosts and then at Alexis. "So all that you told me and more is true, is it?"
Alexis nodded. "I never knew there other Earths out there. Other than this one, this is." Alexis looked off into the distance, considering the possibilities. Then she spoke. "I thank you for your kind offer, but I'll not be returning to my parents."
"Why?" Castle asked, hoping that this Alexis hadn't been abused by them in some way.
"My parents are the most frivolous people imaginable. All they think about is the next party, the next vacation, the next meaningless adventure. I'm sick of them. I have Ash now, and something important to do. Here I am and here I'll stay." She glanced around the room. "I hope you don't intend to try to force me to return."
The five noticed that her hand had dropped below the level of the table to her pistol.
Back on the Moon, Metford was none too happy. "You let her stay there?"
Castle shrugged. "She wasn't the scientist's Alexis. She was happy where she was, so we left her there."
"Where exactly did you leave her?" Metford demanded.
"At Georgetown, Jamaica. We left Ashley with all the gold you had provided us. He'll go back to raiding the Spaniards. Maybe they'll get killed, maybe they'll decided revenge isn't worth it. Both Kate and Becks talked to the two of them about what a search for revenge, or even justice, can do to you." Castle smiled, hoping this was now over. "So, where's the next Alexis? Is she being hidden at a nice luxury resort? Maybe a whole Earth of luxury resorts? Anyplace but the hellholes we've been to?"
Metford smiled. "Oh, she's no place like anyplace any of you have ever been."
That didn't make Castle happy. Nor were the others when Rick told them of his talk with Metford. "At least he told us we have at least another week at our Moon condo. That's something."
"The condemned man gets a hearty meal." Kate said under her breath.
Eight days later, the five were in Metford's office being told where their next Alexis was.
"I'm sorry." Castle said. "I thought you said she was on Mars. I was wrong. Right?"
Metford shook his head and smiled. He was enjoying this. "No, you're headed for the planet Mars."
"Be serious."
"I am serious, Mr. Castle. But it's not the Mars you're familiar with."
"I'm not familiar with any Mars, and I don't want to be. Been there, done that, got the tee shirt." Castle shot back.
Metford ignored him, and waved his hand over his desk. A hologram of the solar system appeared. "This is the solar system as we know it. However, "He waved his and again and another solar system appeared, "this is the alternate Earth solar system you're headed for. The sun is larger and hotter and there are fourteen planets, plus the usual moons, asteroids, and so forth. Earth is the fourth planet and Mars the fifth. And, this Mars is more earthlike, larger, breathable atmosphere, higher gravity and it's in the Goldilocks zone."
"The Goldilocks zone?" Simone asked.
"Not too hot and not too cold." Castle answered her. "It means human life can survive there."
"Precisely, Mr. Castle. And humans have lived on Mars for millennia. Aliens came to this solar system some one hundred thousand years ago, genetically modified some humans and moved them to Mars. They are still capable of interbreeding with earthborn humans, however."
"So Earth has interplanetary spaceships?" Rodgers asked.
Metford shook his head. "No. When the aliens put people on Mars, they put some kind of an instantaneous transfer device at various places on Earth; specifically in the Rocky Mountains, the Alps, the Tien Shan mountains in Central Asia, the Andes, the Mountains of the Moon in Africa, and near Ayres Rock in Australia. Over the millennia, these devices were covered up. About twenty five years ago, the devices in the Rockies, the Alps, and Australia were found within six months of each other. That set off a rush to find the rest. The last, one in the Andes was found about two years ago."
"So, no space ships?" Castle sounded disappointed.
"The highest level of technology is about that of the period 1860 to 1870. In fact, the Earth is much like that period. The US is involved in a civil war, Germany and Italy have become unified nations and want their own colonial empires, the British Empire spans the Earth and is now on Mars, the French are trying to set up an empire in Mexico and on Mars, and other nations are also exploring and colonizing Mars. Except for the US."
"Why not the US?" Kate asked.
"Because of the Civil War. They don't have the resources to expend. However, there is a US Mars colony set up by private individuals called Freeport. That's where you'll be going. You'll be taking a steamboat to sail the canals of Mars."
Now Castle was excited. Sail the canals of Mars. He thought. How cool is that.
The Kate B. wasn't the kind of glamorous river boat that Castle had hoped for. She was barely a hundred feet long and was designed to carry cargo mostly, with any passengers sleeping on deck. The main deck was roofed over and a few cabins for the crew added with a pilot house overlooking the bow. The steam engine was a modern reproduction that was more efficient than the ones they'd find on Mars. Although the Martian canals were mostly quite deep, the Kate B. was a shallow draft vessel.
Although they'd arrive at the Martian equator at the beginning of summer, their clothing was warm, mostly woolens with a few cotton clothes thrown in. At the women's insistence, dresses were included in their wardrobe, although for the most part, they'd dress in pants, shirts and jackets.
One problem was their weapons.
"How the hell do you load these things?" Kate asked, holding a revolver. "There's no way to get a cartridge into the chambers."
"It's a cap and ball revolver." Castle said, unhelpfully in Kate's opinion.
"Thanks." She said, rolling her eyes.
"On that Earth metal cartridge weapons are in their infancy and you'll find damned few cartridges on Mars." Metford spoke up. "With these, you load loose black powder into the chambers of the revolver, add a bullet on top and put a percussion cap on the nipple at the end of the cylinder. Repeat five more times and your revolver is ready to shoot. However, we've made cartridges of a sort for you. Black powder and a bullet all wrapped up in a paper cartridge. The "paper" is a form of plastic, so it's tougher than the paper you'd find elsewhere and it'll burn completely when fired."
Castle held up his pistol. "I learned all about this when I was going to write that Civil War comedy, Kate. The pistols are mostly Colt model 1860 Army revolvers, .44 caliber, with some .36 caliber Colt 1862 Police models. The police models are smaller so we can carry them as concealed weapons."
"Why do we need four of the Army revolvers apiece?" Rodgers asked.
"They take a long time to load, although you can carry a loaded cylinder with you to reload with. Most Union cavalrymen in the Civil War carried two pistols at least. The Confederates, lacking the breechloading, or repeating carbines the Yankee cavalry had, tried to carry four revolvers." Castle held up a leather vest. "We'll wear two pistols in a shoulder holster type rig on the vest. The vest has pockets for spare cylinders, black powder flasks, bullets and percussion caps. The other two revolvers will be in holsters on our belts."
"If we fall into a canal, we'll sink like a stone." Becks mumbled.
Metford cleared his throat. "In addition, you each have a Sharps .52 caliber breechloading rifle, a .44 caliber Colt revolving rifle and a Baker 12 gauge muzzle loading shotgun. We've also included a stock of muzzle loading rifles and pistols in case you have to arm more crew, or bribe someone. I understand Earth weapons are highly valued on Mars."
"Why do we have to be so well armed?" Becks asked.
"Other European colonies on Mars have soldiers and police, but Freeport has only a town police force paid for by the companies there. Once outside of town, you're on your own." Metford told them. "Normally we wouldn't have a permanent presence on such a backward alternate Earth, but since this is an alternate, inhabitable Mars, we do have people there." He smiled at them. "Ready to go?"
Freeport sat at the junction of two major Martian canals with a third canal joining some six miles to the north. In addition, four minor canals also terminated at Freeport. Immediately across the canal from Freeport was the ancient Martian city of Secate Tholus.
As the Kate B. could hardly appear out of nowhere at Freeport, they appeared on Mars some twenty miles up a minor canal that was slowly filling with silt. There was enough water to float Kate B. however.
Castle and Rodgers manned the engine and fed the firebox while Simone steered and Kate and Becks kept a lookout.
As they headed for Freeport, Kate was the first one to see Martians. "Coming up on our left." She called out. "A Martian caravan, I think?" Everyone turned to look. There were twenty or so beasts of burden that resembled a cross between a sheep, and a camel with thick legs. Perhaps fifty or so Martians were spread out on foot around the caravan. The Martians paid no attention to the riverboat or its crew.
Another mile or so passed before they saw their next Martian. He was riding towards them on a beast that resembled a very shaggy horse with very long, thin legs. He stopped his mount and fired a shot in the air, then yelled something unintelligible at them. He waved at something behind him and then spurred his mount to a gallop.
"Local greeting?" Castle asked.
"There's someone coming behind him." Becks shouted. "A lot of somebodies and riding hard."
The somebodies were earthmen riding horses. They slowed to a halt and looked at the riverboat. One of the men took a shot at the riverboat, punching a hole in the pilothouse and just missing Simone. The men laughed and rode on towards the caravan.
"I have a bad feeling about them." Rodgers said quietly. "Can we turn, or go in reverse?"
"Reverse would be easier and quicker." Simone called down to him. "More coal, too?"
They backed down the canal until they could see the caravan and the earthmen. The caravan had circled their beasts and were taking cover behind them. The earthmen had dismounted and were sniping at the caravan.
Rodgers watched for a moment. "From the amount of fire coming from the caravan, they have a lot fewer firearms than the other guys."
"You know, those earthmen could be the law and the caravan could be a bunch of smugglers or something." Castle added.
"There are children in the caravan and the earthmen took a shot at us." Kate said, loading her Sharps. "If they're the law, the law around Freeport can't be very good."
"Good point." Castle began loading a Colt rifle.
As Kate B drew parallel to the caravan, the earthmen began shooting at them. That's was all they needed. Kate drew a bead with her Sharps and saw the bullet smack into a horse, the rider ducked. "Damn." She muttered, levering the breech open, pushing a paper cartridge in and slamming the breech closed. She slapped a percussion cap on. She raised the rifle and took aim. Getting her sight picture just right, she squeezed the trigger and was rewarded with the sight of a man spinning around, grabbing his hip and falling.
Meanwhile, Castle had loaded the six cylinders of the Colt rifle. He fired the first two rounds too fast and missed badly. The second and third shots hit near his targets and the fifth knocked one man over. How badly he was hurt, Castle couldn't tell. Then as he was drawing a bead, the bandits broke and ran. He fired his last shot at a man on horseback and thought the man might have lurched in the saddle. In moments, they were gone.
When the firing ceased, the Martians ran out and stripped the dead of their weapons, ammunition and anything else of value. However, when they ran back to the caravan, the caravan stayed put.
"They don't trust us." Rodgers said. "They're worried that we chased those other people off so we can have them for ourselves."
"We should get going." Simone said, pulling out a pocket watch. "I want to get to the major canal before night fall. I don't want to run aground, not with angry bandits around.
They made it to the major canal with a half an hour to spare and anchored in midstream. Even so, they kept watch at night.
The next morning, they arrived at Freeport.
"It looks like something out of a Western movie." Castle said.
Kate nodded. "One of the real gritty ones. Reminds me of Deadwood.
Freeport straggled along the canal, a ratty collection of tents, wooden shacks, dusty streets, but with crowds of mostly men all hurrying about. They looked at the ancient Martian city across the canal. The city was all red stone buildings, all much larger than anything in Freeport, surrounded by a high, thick wall.
"That's a lot more impressive than Freeport." Rodgers said.
"We're not here to critique the architecture." Castle said. "Metford's people have an office here, we should go see them."
They decided that Rodgers, Castle and Kate should go and that Simone and Becks should stay with the boat. They found that Metford's people had one of the few brick buildings in Freeport. Above the door was a sign: Collier and Grey, Merchants.
When they entered, they discovered that all of the people there were academics who had come to study Mars. They had no real desire to get involved with anything but their own specialties.
They did speak to Mr. Grey. "We have a cargo of Earth foodstuffs for you to take to Martian Mining. That'll give you a cover story. It'd look funny if you came here and left with no cargo. Oh, and we found someone who can help run your boat. He's in the warehouse. You can't miss him."
Indeed they couldn't miss him. He was small, slim and had blue eyes and light hair. And Rick and Kate had seen his face many times before. "You are?" Castle asked.
"Joseph Ryan, your servant, sirs and ma'am." Joseph Ryan wore a green checked suit with a billycock hat perched rakishly on his head. At his belt was a Colt .36 caliber1851 Navy revolver, worn on his left hip with the butt forward.
"You have experience with steam engines?" Rodgers asked.
Ryan nodded. "That I do, sir. I worked for three years on the Ohio Central Railroad, but I hit a conductor who was abusing a lady. I'll not stand for that, sir. And now I'm on Mars."
The three looked at each other. "You're hired Ryan." Castle smiled. "Not that we have much choice. You're all that's available."
"About that, sir. If you'll be allowing me, you'll need more men. I know two. One is right here in the warehouse." Ryan turned around. "Tsena, come over here."
Tsena was a Martian, the first they had ever seen up close. He was tall and slender as was all his race, but was barrel chested, with skin so pale as to be almost albino. He wore leather trousers with a blue woolen shirt. He used a red blanket as a cape, tossed loosely over his shoulder. At his waist was a long, slightly curved saber and a dagger with a blade that looked to be over a foot long. Pushed into his belt was a double barreled flintlock pistol.
"I'm Tsena Argave, Clan Tarsull, from the Sildar Mountains. I went to a Catholic school where the fathers taught me much. I know little of your machines, but I can work hard."
Again, the three looked at each other. "May as well." Rodgers said and held out his hand to the Martian. "You're familiar with this custom?"
Tsena shook Rodgers' hand very stiffly.
"There's another man?" Kate asked.
Ryan turned red. "You'll have to accompany me to the local lock up, sirs and ma'am."
"He's in jail?" Castle asked.
"That he is, but Javier is a good man, sir. And Ma'am. A very good man, especially in a fight. You'll need him here, that you will."
The local jail was one of the few brick buildings in Freeport. One look at the local police convinced Castle that they had been hired for their ability to break heads, and not for their ability to respect the citizens' civil rights. A surly jailer led them to the cells in the back of the jail. "Pay his fine and he's all yours." The jailer said.
Javier Esposito, looking exactly like the one Rick and Kate knew stood up. "Who are your friends, Ryan?"
"Mr. and Mrs. Castle here, and Captain Rodgers own a steamboat. They need a crew, so naturally I thought of you. Tsena has already signed up. He's getting his gear now."
"How'd you end up on Mars?" Castle asked.
Espo shrugged. "I'm from San Antonio de Bexar, in Tejas. My love, Lanie, she wanted to go to New Orleans. So I took her. Once there, she meets this man, nice clothes, nice house, big carriage with four horses, and she don't want Javier any more. I can't go back to Tejas because her family is mad at me for taking her away. I had to get away, so I came here."
"And how'd you end up in jail?" Kat asked.
"There was a pretty girl in the Ares Saloon, but she had a husband." Espo smiled at the memory. "But the husband had three big friends."
"How much is the fine?" Castle asked.
They found Tsena lounging by the pier where Kate B. was tied up. All he had for gear was wrapped in a thick woolen blanket, tied at each end and tossed over his shoulder.
"Those your only weapons?" Rodgers asked.
Tsena opened his jacket to reveal a pair of Colt Dragoon pistols. "Earth people don't like to see Martians armed with modern weapons, so I keep these hidden when I'm in town."
"Some Earth people don't mind." Rodgers replied.
"We'll see about finding you a rifle." Kate added.
Tsena nodded. "Joseph Ryan said you're here looking for a young redheaded Earth person. I asked around. One was here about three weeks ago. Didn't stay in Freeport long. She was taken across the canal to Secate Tholus."
"Then we'll go to Secate Tholus."
Seen up close, Secate Tholus wasn't as impressive as it looked from across a mile wide Martian canal.
"When was the last time they picked up the garbage in this town?" Castle asked, kicking at the trash that seemed to cover every street. And has anyone ever repaired any of the buildings?"
Tsena shrugged. "They say that in the old days, Secate Tholus had over a million residents. I doubt there's more than fifty thousand now, but more are moving here each day."
"Why?" Becks asked. Javier and Simone had been left to watch the boat.
"French to the north, Germans to the south west and the Russians to the east. They all want to expand and they are. They'd like to take Secate Tholus, but if one does, the other two will gang up on them, so no one tries anything here. Easier to leave it alone for now. So people flee to here. The Americans at least stay on their own side of the canal."
"You're sure people live here?" Rodgers asked Tsena.
"The old city center is a little ways away. Be there soon."
The old city center was slightly cleaner and in slightly better repair. And it had a lot more people. Mostly Martians but some humans from Earth as well.
"We should split up. Me, Becks and Ryan will try the bar over there."
"Could we have a bite?" Ryan asked. "I had no breakfast."
Rodgers nodded. "Eat if you're hungry. Rick and Kate, try the place across the city square. It looks busy."
The others were assigned to different areas.
They found a Martian restaurant that catered to Earth people. It was a large, open place with thorny bushes around the perimeter. "Keeps people from sneaking out without paying." Castle muttered.
"I need to go to the ladies room. Grab us a table." Kate said and hurried off.
Rick sat at a table and looked around. Everyone seemed to be deeply engaged in their own conversations and ignoring him. He did spot a woman headed for him. She was tall and lithe, with long black hair and grey blue eyes, killer cheekbones and a nice smile. Not as nice as Kate, of course.
From her clothes, Rick decided she was reasonably well off. Stout boots, a split riding skirt, and what looked like a silk blouse under a leather waist length jacket. A string of pearls encircled her neck.
Suddenly, she smiled and turned slightly to walk straight towards him. She stopped in front of him, sat and leaned over and kissed him, hard. "James, how good to see you again."
Castle looked around and saw Kate standing there looking at the two of them. He also saw two tough looking men glaring at him and headed his way.