The Navigator, page 25
"This is crazy!" Quill nearly stood up from the table. "This is crap. We're trying to avoid being killed by real people – the S.S.S – you're telling us stories about flying saucers!"
"You wanted to know about the S.S.S. and the Kowaka Adon. When I was with the S.S.S. that ship was used for project Fallen Star – to help find 'flying saucers' as you call them. The Kowaka Adon was primarily a supply ship. It would ferry materials and project personnel to and from Baffin Island."
"What's that?" Petal turned to Quill. "I've never heard of Baffin Island."
"It's a military base," Quill muttered.
"A large island in the middle of Khai Shen Bay – straight across from Kudu's capital city. The whole place is under S.S.S. control. We used to use Baffin Island for a lot of things back in my day – as a political prison, a high security warehouse, and as a top secret research facility for the war effort. If we had been able to shoot down a trell, we would've transported it back to Baffin Island to be examined by S.S.S. scientists, and it would've been kept there for storage."
"So what are trells?" Petal leaned in closer.
"Oh, they're nothing really. Just flat, empty platforms that hang in the sky. We saw nothing of interest on any one of them. There was one that seemed a bit different from the others, but that one was in a much higher orbit. It was so high up we lacked the capability to reach it."
"They aren't real!"
"How do they float in the sky?" Petal continued.
"They're tethered to satellites that orbit Ea. We don't know the mechanism that keeps the satellites' orbits from deteriorating over time, but they're what allow the trells to hang down from the sky."
Quill was furious. "Aliens? You're talking about aliens?"
"Well, that's just one of many hypotheses. My personal belief is that the trells were built by one of the advanced nations before the Flood. Even P.R.K. records are incomplete as to what was developed during that time period. But we know that before the Flood, several countries were able to launch satellites into orbit. Perhaps the trells were an ancient aerospace experiment."
"If they're real why hasn't anyone ever seen one or snapped a picture?"
"Well some people have – including me." Wyman gave Quill a toothy grin. "But their orbital paths are way out at sea. They never come close to Hesperia or any other island. Most of them wander around the Dead Ocean or other remote areas. They seem to avoid land - except for the South Pole where their orbits converge. I think that's why Gaveovelli Giovanni always wanted to go there."
"Terra Australis Incognita." A light bulb flicked on in Quill's head. "The hidden southern land from On Navigium."
"Yes, yes." Wyman scratched his hairy neck. "I can see you paid attention at the Academy. If I remember, Professor Qutub taught the introductory navigational courses at Nhan Zhe. He was a devoted disciple of Giovanni."
"Who is Giovanni?"
"Gaveovelli Giovanni was a navigator, like me," Quill began. "But he was the greatest navigator who ever lived. He's legendary – kind of my role model. After the Flood, the whole world changed. All the old maps were useless. Giovanni was a cartographer and an explorer. He drew the maps we used at school. He was a nautical genius."
"He's dead?" Petal asked.
"No," Wyman answered. "He's alive. He was captured by King Hanno of Syracuse during one of his voyages. About ten years ago now. The King imprisoned Giovanni in a literal ivory tower."
"Why?"
"King Hanno is an obsessive collector. He hordes antediluvian technology and other rare items. Giovanni is probably the rarest piece in his collection - and I'd guess he'd be helpful to the King in his search for new treasures. No one has more knowledge of Ea's dark, unexplored places, than Giovanni - The Navigator."
"And the hidden land?" Petal turned back to Quill.
"The hidden southern continent. I knew I'd heard of that. It was from Giovanni's last book, On Navigium. Before the Flood, there was a known continent at the South Pole. After the Flood, no one was sure if it was still there or if it was underwater. Giovanni thought it was still there. He actually 'proved' it was there through mathematics – he studied polar weather patterns and currents. He tried to get there once, but was blown off course. I don't think anyone has been there since the Flood."
"They haven't." Wyman rested his head on a sweaty palm. "We tried once during the Fallen Star project. The winds and storms at that latitude were too intense. We were forced to turn back - just like Giovanni. We'd always suspected that was one of the reasons why King Hanno kidnapped Giovanni – to force him to lead another expedition to the hidden continent."
"The hidden land of ice where all will be revealed." Petal's eyes sparkled.
Quill touched her arm, trying to ground her. "Don't get any ideas. It's impossible to reach."
"Well. Not impossible. At least not for Giovanni. In one of his unpublished accounts he swears he caught sight of it."
"What did it look like?" Petal was now on the edge of her seat.
"A sheet of ice," Wyman said, coolly.
No one spoke for a moment. Petal fidgeted in her seat. She looked like she was about to explode.
"No, Petal. It's not happening."
"I have to go there."
"Hahaha!" Wyman let out a belly laugh. "If you're going there - take me with you! I would love to continue studying the trells, and it would be amazing to see where they all converge in low-Ea orbit."
"Don't encourage her," Quill hissed. "It's impossible to reach. We would need a giant ship, three months worth of food, and a navigator who didn't get kicked out of school before she finished."
"You would need Gaveovelli Giovanni."
Petal nodded. "And he's in Syracuse?"
"Yes. But going to Syracuse is a worse idea than trying to reach Terra Australis Incognita. King Hanno is a blood thirsty, ruthless tyrant. He's been at war with the neighboring island of Delos for the past five years, so his entire kingdom is swarming with royal police and paramilitary soldiers."
"If I need Giovanni to reach the hidden land then I have no choice. I'll have to go to Syracuse and find him."
"No!" Quill fought to keep herself from shouting. "That's insane."
"I'd have to agree. Crazy. . .yet exciting."
"None of this is exciting. You think this is funny? This is a nightmare for us. You still haven't said why the S.S.S. is after me! What do they want with Junk and Petal? We have nothing to do with UFOs, or trells, or hidden continents!"
Wyman shrugged. "I don't know why they're after you. You weren't on our radar when I worked for the S.S.S. - and neither was Petal. However, if you or the girl had any knowledge of project Fallen Star or the Kowaka Adon I could see the S.S.S. coming after you to make sure their secrets stay secret. I would also venture to guess that if the Kowaka Adon kidnapped her sister it would have taken her back to the S.S.S. facility on Baffin Island."
"Where is Syracuse? How far is it from here?"
Quill slammed her palms down on the table. "Petal, we are not going to Syracuse! It's a stupid idea. I'm not going there. You're not going there. End of story."
Petal didn't flinch. "You can do whatever you want, but I'm going."
- 45 -
Rho knelt down on the thick bluegrass. A few yards in front of him was a steep bluff that went straight into the sea. The sea at the bottom of the bluff was relatively tranquil in the late afternoon. Hundreds of nomad and Yong vessels bobbed up and down in its gentle surf. Their white and gray hulls twinkled all the way out to the horizon. The assembled ships belonged to his horde, Khan Swei's Horde, Khan Malakai's Horde, and the now defunct Republic of Yong. The Yong vessels were in the poorest shape. Their decks were pop marked from shell impacts and charcoal black from powder burns. Several of the larger Yong ships had taken on water during the way over to Mann. Now, they were listing sharply in the sea, in danger of capsizing.
A prayer mat was laid out on the bluegrass in front of Rho, near the very edge of the bluff. It was woven from cow hide and golden deer sinew. On top of the mat was a curved, silver nomad sword, an upside-down scallop shell, and a small, wooden cup of mead.
Rho poured the mead into the scallop shell and raised his sword, holding the blade perpendicular to the ground. He then kissed the blade and turned it sideways so it was resting flat in his hands. He took a deep bow, put down the sword, and raised the scallop shell to his lips to take in a brief libation. After he finished the ritual, he heard an argument flare up behind him. A few dozen feet back from the prayer mat and the bluff, a woman was yelling at his bodyguards. Her voice was high and shrill.
***
"Our Khan does not wish to speak to the enemy at this moment."
Quill stood up on her tiptoes trying to see past the bodyguard. She'd wandered the Isle for half the day, looking for Rho, but hadn't been able to find him anywhere. When she returned to Oask, she ran into Atalai. He told her that Rho would likely be on the Whulkun Bluffs, giving the assembled Fleet a traditional blessing.
"I'm not the enemy. I'm not the P.R.K. They exiled me, remember?"
One of the other guards put his palm on Quill's chest and nudged her backwards.
"The Khan does not have time for you now. He's busy. We will tell him that you have come, but now you must go. He will not see you."
"I can see him; he isn't busy." Quill pushed back against the guard. "Rho knows me - you know me - we met on the Typhoon. I came here with his daughter."
The bodyguard gave Quill a hateful sneer. "I've seen how you've tried to worm your way into the Khan's family and into his trust - but both the Khan and I can see right through your plans. You are not a nomad or a friend of our kind – you are a snake – a hidden agent of Kudu."
"I'm not a spy! Rho! Rho!" Quill hopped up and down, trying to see over the bodyguards. "Rho! Can you hear me?"
Rho watched Quill jump up and down behind his bodyguards like a manic beagle. He stood up from the grass and coughed into his fist to get their attention.
"Holthum, Nicius, Onwatt! Let the Hesperian through. I wish to see her."
The trio of bodyguards, who'd been blocking Quill's advance, grimaced at their orders. Begrudgingly, they parted around Quill, letting her walk forward.
Quill marched right up to the Khan, trying to shake off her irritation.
"I apologize." Rho licked the glaze of mead off his lips. "My guards aren't used to having Hesperian visitors."
Quill peeked over the edge of the bluff and looked straight down the cliff. The sea below hugged the jagged cliff side in a whirlpool of swirling foam.
"It's okay. The real hassle was finding you."
"I was told you spoke with Wyman yesterday. Was what he told you of any value?"
"Not really." Quill listened to the crash of the distant surf. It felt calming. "He told Petal the S.S.S. probably locked Junk away on Baffin Island. Other than that, he just rambled on and on about the trells."
"Wyman is an interesting character isn't he? His theories about the trells are well known around Mann, although most - including me - dismiss them as lunacy."
"They are lunacy."
"Yes, well, trells aside, Wyman's knowledge of the S.S.S. is as good as it gets. His information has proven itself to be accurate time and time over. A shame to hear about the sister though. Baffin Island is impregnable."
Quill was transfixed by the sea. All of the gray ships below were shimmering under the afternoon sun. They looked like a net of pearls cast atop the ocean.
"How is Petal? How did she take Wyman's information?"
"Petal's fine. She's took what Wyman said pretty well actually."
"Good to hear. To be honest - by now - I'd hoped Petal would have begun to forgive me. Rather naïve - I know. I may have changed, but she hasn't. Still stubborn."
"She's pretty mad at you. She said you used to beat her and verbally abuse her. Forgiveness for something like that doesn't come easily - especially for someone like Petal."
"I didn't do those things. That monster wasn't me. Both she and the drink made me a different person. But, what's done is done. I'm not proud of the hurt I've caused, but I can never change what I did to Petal."
"You could help her now."
Rho frowned. "How?"
"The Seer has Petal convinced that she has to go to Terra Australis Incognita to find her sister."
"How would sailing there be of any value? You just told me she was taken to Baffin Island – not the South Pole."
"The Seer told Petal she has to follow her visions to find Junk. Petal thinks that means she has to find all the places she's seen in her dreams – her visions. She's convinced her visions are pointing to the Southern Pole. Terra Australis Incognita."
"How strange." Rho glanced back at his guards to see if any of them were within earshot. "As of late, I've had a difficult time believing the Seer – or rather her interpreter. The Seer babbles on in incoherent rants while that old crow merely tells you what you want to hear. . .or some vague warning. I've learned the hard way to be weary of coming to the Seer for advice. But now I'm curious. What advice did she have for you?"
"Nothing interesting." Quill paused for a moment. "I don't believe in the Seer either, but Petal does. She's dead set on going to the pole."
"Then how could I help her? I can't go off on some frolic down to an impossible-to-reach-pole. I have responsibilities to Mann, and I have an entire horde to lead and care for."
"Petal's not prepared to go to Terra Australis Incognita yet. First, she wants to talk to Giovanni the Navigator. He could tell her how to get there - or what is there, maybe."
"She wants to go to Syracuse?"
Quill nodded.
Rho laughed, bitterly. "Trying to reach the hidden land is reckless, but going to Syracuse is suicidal. The tyrant, Hanno, will have her skinned alive the moment she steps on shore. If he doesn't think of a more sadistic torture."
"That's what Wyman and I told Petal, but like you said - she's unbelievably stubborn. She'll try to go to Syracuse on her own if it comes to that. I can't stop her."
"She's quite impenetrable. Curious she's chosen to stick with you all this time. I'd think you two have very little in common."
"It wasn't all her choice. I had to drag her along some of the way. She might have left me by now if she could have."
"But she does have feelings toward you."
"Yeah." Quill smiled. She caught herself. "I mean - I think so. I hope so."
"If Petal goes to Syracuse will you follow her?"
"Yes. I will."
"Why?"
"I think she'll need me. She will need me," Quill said with conviction. "I know it."
Rho scratched his chin. "Is that what the Seer told you?"
"Yeah. . . .In a way, I guess that is what she told me."
"Then you believe in the Seer also."
Quill hadn't considered this. She shook off the thought.
"I don't know. Petal may be bold and strong but she's basically a child. I can't let her go off on her own – especially to Syracuse. I know she'll need me once she gets there."
"And Hanno may kill you as well. You'd die for Petal?"
"I don't know. Maybe if I had to."
"You barely know her."
"I know her well enough to see that she's a good, caring person. I admire her strength. If she lives through this, she'll grow up to be an amazing woman."
"So you'd sacrifice yourself for her?"
"Wouldn't you?" Quill scoffed. "You're her father."
"No. I wouldn't. I'm a father to many, including my horde. I wouldn't sacrifice myself for her. That would be selfish. I have responsibilities to thousands, not just one. Maybe. . .maybe it is better for Petal that she have you for a mother than me for a father."
Quill's gaze hardened. "Why is everyone calling me her mother? I'm not Petal's mother - but you are her father. She needs you now. All you have to do is take her to Syracuse."
"What will that do? You said it yourself – you'll both be killed if you go there."
"Wyman agreed to come along with us."
"If Mr. Wyman has a plan, I'd like to hear it."
"Wyman thinks that King Hanno would be up for an exchange. Hanno may let Petal speak with Giovanni if he can speak with Wyman. Wyman said Hanno's been trying to debrief him about the S.S.S. and the trells for years. If you came along to arrange the deal, Hanno wouldn't double cross us. He's already at war with Delos. He wouldn't want to risk starting a new war with the Sand Tigers."
