Deep Sea Chapter 16

16.

The Surface

Andre stood on the bow of the ship named Dragon Tears. He found his accommodations airy but a little too small for his liking.

“Merci, Man creates and man destroys,” Andre grumbled on his treatment. The air was not his to complain about he knew that the air was God’s gift.

“How far to the sea shelf?” Lady Jan asked. She had three of her ships with her on the journey. Their mission was to trace the sea canyon on the shelf. If it was there which the Frenchman said, then he may live longer. Andre grim up his expression and then looked at the charts. Lord Henry had not shown him the sea canyon but did gloat on it.

“It’s here,” Andre called out. “I recognized the currents.”

Lady Jan was agitated then. She had heard the same words three times that day and when they sent divers down, there was no continental shelf. It was flawed intelligence. Or a cheating man.

“Throw him overboard.” Lady Jan gave the command. She had enough of the lies. Two of the crews grabbed Andre and bound him with the ropes. They dragged the screaming man to the rails.

“Stop there.” Lady Jan then called out. She then stepped up to Andre. “I owe you the gold coins.”

Lady Jan motioned to the other crew member to bring forth the metal harpoon. The five feet long harpoon weighed a hundred pounds. She had the harpoon tied to Andre’s feet.

“Andre, with the short notice I could not find any gold coins but we have a tradition of offering the death the lavish gifts like gold. Trust me I will do the same for me. Ten times the gold will be burned to you.” Lady Jan told Andre. She was recounting the deceased offerings of the Chinese descend upon memorial date.

“Putain.” Andre screamed out in French. Those were his last words before they tossed him over. Lady Jan looked at the two divers. They were still dressed in the metal oblong case that covered their heads to their groin while their limbs were the sealed seal skin. Each of them held a long whale spear of over seven feet in length. They looked like Humpty Dumpty standing on the ship deck. She nodded to them.  

The two metal cased divers stepped off the rails and into the water. They were fed air by the rubber tube that was connected to the electrical pump on the deck. The pump was the only thing keeping the two divers alive. The descent at a rapid rate based on their weight of over two hundred pounds but there was the lifeline of the rope which they could be hauled up. They kept on dropping until they reached the corral mound at under fifty feet.

Lu Fong was one of the divers. He was trained for over six months with that metal suit. He was an experienced swimmer having dived into the strong currents of the sea to retrieve the pearls. He looked from behind his glass window. The sight was no different from his previous dives. The fishes and the corrals were similar in looks but there were some of differing shades and shapes. His feet were covered in the wrapped seal skin which made him took clumsy steps. He liked his old ways when he swam with only a loincloth

 around his groin and the dagger tucked in between his teeth.  He saw then the danger.

The twelve footer shark was swimming close at about twenty feet away. One of the features of the sea was that anything can come up close to you without you knowing. The sea was ever silent and hardly sounds out any predators.

Lu Fong signaled the other named Wang Yu. The other was standing ten feet to the left was not aware of the shark. Wang Yu turned to look at the predator. He was not prepared to see the predator and slipped on the slippery corral. He fell onto his haunches with that clumsy fall. That fall ruffled up the sediment there and caught the attention of the predator. It turned its body and moved in. It was inevitable then.

Wang Yu tossed the harpoon at the predator. In the water, the body movement was slower with the extra friction on the semi-solid state. The harpoon with its narrow-body sailed across the sea currents and stuck into the underbelly of the predator. The harpoon did not bury in deep but it caused a long cut on the soft underbelly. The predator went into a frenzy with the wound. It swam away from the divers but its blood trail was attracting the other predators.

Wang Yu in his panicked state pulled at the life rope. It was the signal to have him hauled up. He looked towards Lu Fong but the other was looking at the predator.

Lu Fong knew when one was in danger, there was to two options; fight or flee. When you need to escape, there will be two more options; run wild or intelligently. The later was if you knew the area to hide.

The shark was in the home turf.

It swam further away and then dived.

It dived into the canyon.

They have discovered the canyon.

The Depth

Lord Henry stood there on the opening in his fortress walls. He had arrived then at dawn after picking up the two weary-looking men of his. The view from the opening gave him a clear view of the port. He was told which the two ships to the lookout. He saw the departing ships that were on their way to the sea. They may be his guests here but fishing still required to pay for the lodgings.

“Is that a storm coming in? Lord Henry commented on the dark horizon. He knew that the men of his will not let a storm stopped them from leaving the port.

“Yes, my Lord. Nothing we have not handled before.” Senior Sergeant Hamley nodded. He was surprised that his Lordship will be concerned about a small storm. The ships have left port in gale condition before. They knew how to avoid the gale by sailing to the other side of the storm. It was part of their military flanking move unless the gale was high on the scale.

“Are the defenses ready?” The Fortress at Big Jaws was actually a high wall that faced out to the sea at the bay. It was three feet thick and at the height of thirty-five feet on the coastal ridges. He had it extended to over one mile and had the area there covered. He had twelve large cannons there. They have antiquated twelve pounders cannons from the post-Napoleon wars. It was one of the fit breech-loaders; shell and gunpowder were loaded through the gunner’s end of the barrel. The shell when fired will engage into spiral grooves cur inside the barrel caused the shell to spin rapidly in its flight. It had greater accuracy and range than the previous guns. It had a range of three thousand yards.

“Senior Sergeant Hamley, I want to see the clergyman.” The Senior Sergeant was not making an effort to move. Lord Henry saw the reluctance.

“Damn you, Hamley. If we are still in the Army, you will be carrying sacks of potatoes.” Lord Henry snapped at the Senior Sergeant. “I don’t care if the clergyman protests on what we do. Just put a bullet into him if you ever need be.”

Lord Henry was getting upset at the unwelcome guests. “You open your doors for charity and they robbed you blind.”

“My Lordship, Father Galen is not our typical ….” Senior Sergeant Hamley voiced up. His voice did not only quiver but was stuttering. He was concerned about the condition of his men if they try to go against the Irish pastor's wishes.

“I don’t bloody care. He is on my island and he reports to me.” Lord Henry replied. With that Lord Henry looked back to his port. He was focussing on the three ships that were in his port. They were anchored off the pier and none seems to be engaged in anything except waiting. It looked like any other trawlers but on those three he recognized them as intruders. He turned around to see the Senior Sergeant still there.

“Okay invite him over with a generous offer that I will donate to his church. And tell him that his sheep are going to be eaten by the wolves.” Lord Henry told the Senior Sergeant. The non-commissioned officer nodded to his Lordship. He was relieved that he does not have dragged the Irish pastor. His sermons were as bad as his punches.  

“That won’t be necessary, General.” Pastor Tom Galen stepped up towards the wall. He was nearby when he heard his name mentioned. “My new sheep are asleep. They don’t take too well to the Irish brew I make.”

The Pastor or the clergyman was a short man at over five feet in height but he made up for his good muscles frame. He ran twice daily on the island and do his fighting every day except during the services day. His hair was cropped close to his scalp but the round-rimmed glasses perched on the nose bridge were out of his character.

“They did tell me more than you know. They are the forward squad, while the main company will come soon to invade us.” Pastor Galen reported in. “There are times we wished that we need not resort to violence.”

“You are telling me that there are more of them out there.” Lord Henry was upset. “And how did you know? Don’t tell me that God told you so.”

“To be exact, I was doing God’s work to see the lost sheep that had turned up for the weekly mass. I stumbled on them beating up some good men. I gave them a lesson in humility and they replied with the repent tone. They told me that the main fleet is on the main island waiting for orders. Those two are to hit us when the fleet arrived this week.”

“Second fleet?” Lord Henry asked.

“The second fleet will be much later. It will be their troopships. I think they are talking about twenty of such ships with about two hundred personnel per ship in that fleet...” Pastor Galen explained his findings. “There are also three submerged ships and two gunships. They have what we have developed.”

“Damn!” Lord Henry was getting more agitated.

“I will suggest we take the ones here now. Soon after, we will repel the others when they do arrive.” Pastor Galen explained. The pastor was formerly a Lieutenant with multiple ribbons of valor but he quit the military to be a man with God.

“My flock of sheep is endangered with the wolves in the pen.” The Pastor made his point. “I can lead the capture of the wolves. There is a storm on the horizon.”

With that Pastor Galen laid down his plans. He was one of the top strategists in the military. Lord Henry gave him the nod.

“You do the needed to prepare for the fleet.” Lord Henry told the Pastor.

An hour in the late hours of the morning the port was idle with the non-sailing inhabitants seeking shelters from the coming storm.

On the ship ‘Yellow Harvest’, Wu Chin stood at the bow with his left hand laid on the hilt of his far eastern long sword. He was dressed in the half tunic and balloon pants with wooden sandals. He had a heavy chain on his neck with the dragon emblem.  He was a senior officer in Lady Jan’s Organization. It was his task to stay in stealth among these enemies. He had done it many times in the service to Lady Jan. He looked to the structures on the piers. He could make out the warehouses and the two levels structures that housed the trades for their daily needs. He had seen those places on his land; they served the vile drinks with those harlots that will steal their coins. He detested these places. He heard the clank against the ship hull. He rushed over and saw the boat that was moored there. It was the Warden of the Port.

“Hail there. I am Warden Thomas.” The warden plays an important role there as the administrator and tax collector. He also checked on the ships for any needs. Wu Chin stepped up to meet the warden.

“Hail, Warden. What brings you here?” Wu Chin was given the task for he speaks their words. He looked around at the deck. It was cleared of the others who had taken to the lower decks for shelter. The five he had sent to check on the island defenses have not returned. That was his reason to stand on the bow.

“Permission to come abroad.” Warden Thomas called out. Wu Chin could not refuse the Warden’s request. He proceeded to the deck to meet the climbing up warden. The warden was not alone. He was accompanied by four more men including one dressed in the frock of the priesthood.

“Captain Wu Chin, I was told that some of your men were wounded in a bar brawl. They rest at our lodgings.” Warden Thomas was a rounded man in his later age. He had retired years ago but his dedication to the job made him join Lord Henry’s excursion here. He was familiar with the workings of the port.

“Are they well? Can I have them send here?” Captain Wu Chin asked back. The warden smiled. It was his role to play on as the negotiator. A brawl meant there was a need for compensation. That was his to demand from the Captain but that was not his intention that day. They were to distract the Captain.

Captain Wu Chin saw then the Senior Sergeant Hamley was there. It was unusual for that officer to be aboard. He looked at the other two and was not amused. It was two strangers to him by look but known to him by reputation.

“Why are they here?” Captain Wu Chin asked. It was then he saw the other men climbing on board. He looked to the sister ship “Red Harvest”. It was boarded by men in arms. The sentries there were overpowered. He looked at the Warden.

“I will not surrender.” Captain Wu Chin went for his sword. It was Pastor Galen who had stepped in and delivered the blow at the right elbow of the Captain. That blow stopped the Captain from drawing his sword. He fell back holding his right elbow.

“Fight me like a man.” Pastor Galen called out while the others rushed to subdue the crews below the deck. Captain Wu Chin glared at the man who had challenged him. He was to be outwitted by them and may soon be killed. That was the punishment he ever gets out free and reported to the Lady herself. He will prefer to die like the warrior he was trained to be. He discarded his sword belt and then took up the stance of the martial arts that he had learned.

The shot came from the Sergeant Major’s Webley. Wu Chin went down clutching his pelvis.

“Why did you do that?” Pastor Galen confronted the other. “He was mine to be taught the lesson on his intention to hurt my sheep.”

“Well-considered it as God inflicted punishment to die by my shot.” The Sergeant Major replied. “In my learning, we do not take unnecessary works when the swift one was available.”

The former Lieutenant gripped his fists tight and walked away. He was still upset but the collar on his neck stopped him from exercising the frustration out. He was a military man with years of doing the tasks that others will not volunteer for. He had done it all but no one protected his family. They died in the war when he was fighting his elsewhere. He resigned his commission and went to the hills. He was told of the island and volunteered here. He found his life was not complete with both the military and the restraint of the collar. He had a purpose there; he will protect them from the wolves. God has told him to do it.