Chapter 13

“I am not sure why you are so concerned. It is not outside the realm of possibility that a feral population of meridraken has taken root in the wild,” said Rear Admiral Rintaro.

We were back in the meeting room at the naval base. The projector showed a blurry image of my dance partner coming up for air in the distance, which must have been taken from the main tour boat. We had been rushed back so quickly that my hair was still damp, and we still smelled of saltwater. At least they had let us change into our uniforms first; I don’t think that the Japanese officer would have approved of my swimsuit.

“I don’t see how they could,” sputtered O’Connor. He looked even redder than he had the day before, and I don’t think it was due to a sunburn. “There aren’t that many of ‘em to start with, and they aren’t exactly bulletproof. They don’t usually survive the serious battles. If one is running wild, it bucked a rider. If there’s a rider, it’s an orc or a devil, and we gotta ask ourselves why one of them is this far south. They could be scouting for an invasion.”

“Let us not be hasty,” said Rintaro, rising from his seat. “Cadet Cooper, did you see a saddle on it?”

“No, sir,” I said, shaking my head. I regretted it, since it left a puddle on the table.

The older man’s face lit up in triumph. “You see? You can’t have a rider without a saddle. At least, not on a beast like that; their hides are too slick otherwise.”

“You’re missing the point,” grumbled O’Connor. “With all due respect,” he added, clearly not thinking much respect was due. “That critter’s gotta breathe air, and they’re going to be hunting where we go fishing. One of ‘em, much less a breeding population, wouldn’t have just been noticed now.”

Zack raised his hand. “We did just beat back a Horde attack on Sumatra, and there were a few dozen meridraken among the boats. I was there to see them myself. Maybe we shot the riders off and this one escaped?”

“Zack has a point,” I said. “If you’ll pardon my interruption.”

“Of course, Rose,” said O’Connor. “You’re the one who fought it off, for God’s sake. Enlighten us.”

I resisted nodding this time. I’d learned my lesson. “It ran off as soon as I bloodied its nose. I don’t think the Horde would send it to eat sea turtles or divers. It seemed to be acting naturally.”

“Most unlike how they typically behave,” said Rintaro, sounding triumphant. “They are usually ensorcelled by devils into a berserk rage before they go into battle. So you see? A simple fluke.”

“Rose, stop helping him,” O’Connor hissed at me. “Rear Admiral, I don’t like the idea of sending out a cadet as the only Wizard Corpsman on a half-armed salvage boat when there’s dang sea monsters swimming around. We need some more cover. You gotta free up some picket boats, at least!”

“I am afraid that would be… difficult.”

“Then you can’t have Cadet Cooper,” he spat.

“You’re being inconsistent, Lieutenant,” chided the Rear Admiral. “Just yesterday you said you didn’t believe the reports of sea monsters and strange weather.”

“Now I have something to corroborate them,” he said. “At least the meridraken sightings. And what about you? You were worried about the curse yesterday!”

“I will be frank with you,” said Rintaro. “Your opinion yesterday that there was no curse in the Spratly islands played well with the League’s central command. It’s exactly what they wanted to hear.”

“Because?” demanded the American.

Rintaro sighed, massaging his temple. “There is some Horde activity in Korea that has our analysts concerned. The fleet we moved down to fight off the invasion in Sumatra is being sent back to the Sea of Japan. That means my resources in this theater have been cut.” He pulled up a printout, flipped to a page covered in highlighted words, and shoved it across to O’Connor. “If you had not been so insistent that the Allied Navy was, and I quote your report, ‘scared of our own shadows,’ I could have probably gotten you the escort you requested. Unfortunately, those ships are now out of my grasp. All I can offer you is an impressed civilian vessel with enough guns to chase off a typical pirate ship.”

“Well, talk about eating your own words.” O’Connor’s brow knit. “C’mon, Rintaro. You must be able to at least spare a submarine hunter. They’re good at dealing with meridrakens.”

“The plural would be meridraken,” said Zack.

Lieutenant O’Connor slammed his fist into the table. “It’s a demonic word, I don’t care about using it right!”

“Why not send more wizards instead?” I asked, trying to play the peacemaker again. “I fought one of those creatures off, and I didn’t even have a ship to stand on.”

O’Connor shifted uncomfortably. “Boats would be better. Wizards sink just as well as mundanes. Rose, you got darned lucky out there. What if it snuck up and rammed the boat, or what if it was one of the snakelike ones that could wrap around the ship like something out of a monster movie? I like having a second boat around, at the least!”

Rintaro tapped the desk, deep in thought. “Leftenan, I am afraid that is impossible. The Sipadan has enough room to bring a few wizards, but those are in short supply.”

O’Connor paced, before meeting my gaze. “May I have a moment alone with the Cadet?”

“Of course,” said Rintaro.

O’Connor led me to another meeting room that was identical to the one we had just left. He charged the jamming fabricata.

“What do you need that for?” I asked.

“I took you out of the room so we wouldn’t get heard. Nobody’s going to eavesdrop on us.” He turned and shifted uncomfortably. “I’m sorry, Rose.”

“I can’t say I expected that,” I said, taken aback.

“Let me finish,” he groused. “I don’t like being wrong, but I am, so I’m going to own up to it. I’ve put you in an awful situation, and there isn’t a good way to get you out of it.”

“Sir?”

“There’s something going on in those islands, and I convinced the higher ups that you didn’t need protection. I promised them a weather wizard to keep the salvage ship safe, and you’re the only one in this hemisphere who isn’t on another mission.” He sighed deeply. “Your other brothers are already busy, and the only other one we had turned out to be a dang Holy Sister.”

I felt my own face redden with anger. “Oh, I know all about her! That bitch used disguise magic to impersonate me and try to kill my friends!”

“I figured you’d remember,” he said, flashing me a wry smirk. “I wish she could’ve waited a few months before exposing herself! I’d rather throw her into the lion’s den than a cadet.” He straightened up, the humor flowing out of him. “You volunteered for this job under false pretenses. I thought this would be a cake run, but there’s real danger now. You’re just a dang cadet! I can try to get you out of it, but—”

I cut him off. “Lieutenant O’Connor, ever since England fell, all I’ve wanted is to do my part for the League and the Corps. I hate sitting in safety while everyone else is out there fighting and dying. This is finally something I can help with. You couldn’t keep me away if you wanted to.”

He nodded. “Alright then. Don’t worry; even if we can’t get you a ship, we’ll get you the best wizard I know to accompany you.”

************

We arrived at the naval docks bright and early the next morning. O’Connor accompanied Zack and I, though he hadn’t gotten off his phone once since we had arrived. I didn’t focus on him much, since it was hard enough to maneuver through the docks. I was nearly run over by a forklift, and I’m pretty sure the Chinese shouted at me wasn’t an apology. Everywhere I looked was abuzz with activity, and I noticed the flags of a half-dozen navies on ships ranging from tugboats up to an American Remnant aircraft carrier sitting in the harbor.

O’Connor stopped abruptly, and I nearly ran into his back. “Well, we’re here.”

“Is that it?” I asked, sizing up the vessel before me, the Sipadan. She flew the increasingly familiar red and white stripes of the Malaysian flag, but that was the only colorful part of her. The rest was dull green paint only broken up with her name and a few patches of rust. I was encouraged to see a few machine guns at strategic points on the deck, but she wasn’t exactly well-armed. Much of the space towards the aft was devoted to a device I thought looked like a crane, along with other devices I couldn’t quite identify.

Zack looked offended. “Is that it? Come on, Rose, she’s a classic!”

“It’s an antique, more like,” said O’Connor. “There’s a reason they sold her off to a salvage company.”

“I’d think you’d be proud of her, yeah? She was an American ship originally, a Bolster class. They don’t make ‘em like that anymore.”

“American?” I cocked my head. “How did it end up in Malaysia?”

“She’s passed through a few hands,” said Zack, excitedly counting off on his fingers. “She was the USS Recovery until the 90’s, when the Americans gave her over to Taiwan, who gave it to the Allied Navy in 2034, who auctioned it a few years back. This is only her second mission since then; the Allies ran the poor thing into the ground.”

“You certainly know your history,” I said.

“It’s my hobby,” he said, looking proud of himself.

O’Connor grunted. “Yeah, the national navies get a lot of hand-me-downs. I’m not looking forward to serving on a ship that’s more than a century old, no matter how good a job you did restoring it.”

“A century old? Is she from World War II?” I asked, images from a hundred war movies flashing through my mind.

“It was built just after,” said Zack.

“That makes it seem a little less interesting, somehow,” I said, not really meaning to. Zack’s smile faded, ever so slightly. “No, not like that just… well that was the big one, yeah? The one where England held out, even as the rest of Europe fell. It always gave me hope. I love seeing artifacts from back then.”

“It was designed during the war, if that helps,” said Zack.

“It does,” I said, giving the ship a fresh look. It’s funny how framing can affect your perspective. Once I knew how old it was, I felt a lot less judgmental. I was impressed the ship was still with us, as ancient as it was. Then, something O’Connor said sank in. “Wait, sir, you make it sound like you’re coming with us.”

“Only because I am,” said O’Connor.

“I thought you said you’d be sending the best wizard I know with you,” I said.

“You’re looking at him,” he said, jerking a thumb at himself.

“Wait, you?” asked Zack, looking skeptical.

“Did I stutter? I said the best, not the humblest. I told the Divine Blade I’d keep you out of trouble and give you some education, and I’m going to keep that promise.” I felt a smile spread across my face as we made our way up the gangplank.

It wouldn’t last long. I still had to meet the Sipadan’s captain.