Tweet...tweet.... Long delay in my postings

I would like my apologies once more. I have not pen anything for one month now; with my mind pre-occupied on other issues, I could find myself doing any writing. Its only fair to all that I mentioned this.

Am I giving up?

No. I am not. I just need some time to sort my current issues.

Will there be postings?

Yes, but maybe not so prompt. I will do it at least once or twice a week. I will complete Deep Sea War, though I have not pen the final chapters.

Do I have any other tales to post?

I do have some older tales. They were written like more than five years ago, but they may not be as detailed like the ones now. I will edit and post them.

When do I get out of this fuddled mind?

Soon I hope but please allow me some time to get my wits and fingers to tap dance once more. I just needed the breathing space for now.

And once more, thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Deep Sea Wars 13.1. and 13.2

13.

The Surface

General Clarke looked at map on the wide and long table at his personal home at the twenty four room mansion on the riverbanks of the river that flows through the city. It was his family home from his grandfather’s days.  The elderly old man was in the colonies when he was informed of his inheritance by the barristers then. Ironically, he was fighting the same ruling class for the decent patch of farm in the colonies. Once he was advised of the inheritances, the old man abandoned his quest from a farmer to that of the Lord. He absorbed the family into the ruling class with fine tutoring and rankings in the social circle with the hefty purse he had carried. His son which was Clarke’ father was given a rank of Colonel but the poor man died from over indulgence in opium. Clarke was the younger generation then and had disclaimed all the family’ troublesome past to stay afloat on the influences of power and greed. The later caused him some pain where he lost at the cards but the former brought him the position as General. It was rumour that the former bought him the later, but whatever it was he was ranked General by the Army.

General Clarke was all familiar with the points on the map but he disliked the ones marked red. Those are the enemies; similar in blood and flesh but with a different view of the issue. Before him there were the seventeen senior officers with the lowest ranked Colonel. They were from the three divisions of the Army.

“General Allen, are your men ready?” General Allen heard the Senior General request. He was a single star General from the Armoured Division. They have the armoured Mark I units with the rhomboid design and the long tracks coupled with the two rear wheels to steer the tank. Each tank weighed over twenty seven tons each. Each tank held a crew of eight with the twin six pounder cannons, and three Hotchkiss machine guns. The twin side sponson which looked like pigeon homes housed the cannons. 

“Yes, General.” General Allen replied. ‘But we have an issue.”

General Clarke glared at the other. He then looked at the others around the table. He was not sure if they will support him on the war. They were once his command but with the shift of command, he was unsure.

“General Clarke, we have an issue. Sir.” General Allen voiced out.

“Then fucking cleared the issue.” General Clarke raised his voice. “We are soldiers, Allen. Not fucking stooges.”

“All of you listen up. See those red spots. I want them cleared.” General Clarke shouted out. “Dismiss.”

The officers all trooped leaving the General to himself by the table.  

“You are losing your command, Clarke.” The voice belonged to Lord Stuart. The later was seated on the far corner while holding the glass of brandy. “They need your voice to command and not to ignore them.”

“Ian, if I ever need your advice, remind me to call my mother. She have lots of it even she was not drunk.” General Clarke stepped away from the table. He then pointed at the table.

‘Those red spots represent the regiments or company that will not listen to my command. They are for the General who took my spot of command. Half of those bastards were promoted by me.”

“The promotions which you sow like the poppy seeds in the field then. I recall it very well in your exact words; ‘they are loyal officers and more to it, capable men.’ You thought you were feeding them for their loyalty, but apparently, your chosen men have lived to their mantle. They have grown their own poppy plants to feed their own. They fought for their land and never the snob that sold the rights to the seas.” Lord Stuart gleefully sounded it out.

“This scheme was yours to begin with, my Lord.” General Clarke replied with the cynical tone.

 “It’s mine by birth, General Clarke and ours when we nurtured it to near adulthood now.  You can’t deny my birth right gave me the edge needed to foresee the benefits of it all, if we continued nurturing it.”

“Damn you, Stuart. If it was not your planning, I may be still seated on the post.” General Clarke lament on his loss of authority.

“That post will not bear you the grandeur that your grand paddy once held. It was your father’ and your grand scheme to lose most of it at the cards.” Lord Stuart reminded the other. “It was my grand scheme if we are to succeed regained that loss for you.”

“The land cannot bear another war after the last one.” General Clarke sighed. “It was to takeover Lord Henry’s idea and made it ours. No fighting on the grand scale.”

“And it should be. Your Army are to stand down. I will have Lady Jan’s do the fighting. She will annihilate the island named Jaws. After all, it’s at the boundary and none of our ships are capable of reaching it.”

“You are telling me to babysit the renegades while Lady Jan battle Henry’s fleet?” General Clarke asked

“Yes, remember the plan was to get rich again. We were supposed to fish but the fleet that Lady Jan brought was her fighting fleet. I had the data on it. She was trying to invade us.”

“That’s good news. But why tell me now?” General Clarke asked. “We have brought the enemy to our shores.”

“Good point but she had not landed. Her fleet stands off our shores.” Lord Stuart replied.

“The fleet is off our shores and you tell me we are not to worry.” The General shouted back. “I am to protect it.”

“Protect it you shall, General Clarke. Let our enemies fight among themselves. The victor side will be weakened and with that, we can overcome them. It’s called killing two birds with one stone.”

“Then explained to me one more time how can we win the war?” General Clarke asked.

“Our primary task is to fish in the deep sea. When we recruited the assistance of Lady Jan, our agreement was to get her here so that we can take over the fleet. She refused to berth and with the new General, we have to make new plans. Lord Henry abrupt move pushed the deadline ever closer. He is the unknown factor here. We are not sure of his fleet and that infernal submerged ship of his.”

“Henry’s fleet is not a fighting fleet. It’s a fishing one.” General Clarke cut in. “He was not …”

“So why are you afraid of Lord Henry?”

“Lord Henry is resourceful. He will not be easily defeated.” General Clarke explained himself. “He had out fought me on the few occasions we met.”

“Twice beaten and you are ashamed to stand up again. By George Clarke, you are a disappointment to the family. Considering that I am your cousin, I ought to march you out for a duel for shame on the family name but we lived in a different era now.” Lord Stuart did not hide his distaste for the cowardly General. “Lord Henry is only flesh and blood. It’s how we handle the situation that will determine his demise.”

General Clarke then saw the arrival of Lady Jan with unkempt and poorly dressed man at her side. The lady was dressed in knee length dress with the flats. He had taken offence to the arrival for that man should not be allowed into the house. He knew that man and was to voice out his protest.

“Lady…” General Clarke was cut off.

“May I introduce to you gentlemen the man who will help us destroy Lord Henry”

The Depth

The only way to describe the sea cavern was it was huge. Its entry was seen as a narrow outcrop by the ships in the bay there, but beneath the surface, was the open mouth that could swallow the Sea King into its throat and surfaced inside the huge belly.

Stacy was not new to caving but each time she arrived at one, she was overwhelmed by the majestic feel of being inside it. For one to experience a cavern was to be become engulfed in the dark. There was the accompanying feel of chill which will tinge your skin. Its cold touch there reached out to your fear. The first thing you do was to reach for light. It could be a distance light that shone through some narrow openings or the reflection of your own light. That was only part of the sensation. The other ones was silence. It was most times silent in the cavern unless there were some dripping waters from the ceilings or the side of the walls. Each drop will resonance across the cavern and be echoed at times. Your hands will reach to feel the solid walls; it was your only secured feeling then. Your feet will grip into the nocks and cracks of the dark path. Each step was taken with a breath of prayer hoping it will prevail on and not be a deep crevasse fall into the depths.

“Stacy...” She heard her name called. She looked back to the Captain.

“Are you okay?” Captain Arthur asked her. Stacy nodded and then turned to look at the glass window. They were surfacing in the cavern. She was told that it held a depth of a hundred feet and a height of equal with a length across of over five hundred feet.  The large bulbs of the ship were turned off but the smaller ones were still lighted. It shone against the wall and then the magnificent works of the tenacious breed known as Man.

The cavern was lined up with three platforms that were built into the solid wall with the wood piling and planks. Each platform reached out to the water and there it supports the ship while it berthed. When the Sea King was anchored by the ropes, the walking planks were extended out and then the hatches opened. The fresh air was inhaled with relief by the crews after their exhausting five hours of recycled air.

Stacy was assisted out by the cavern crews to the platform. It felt strange to stand on firm ground then. She saw that each platform was about fifty feet across and there were crates of supplies and equipment there. She saw the large closed structures on the far end of the cavern. She was to ask when she saw the Captain and the others were lead to the nearby staircase. They mounted it up for over five levels before they appeared in the open mouth cave.

There were structures that housed the cavern crews with the rail tracks that allow the small metal carriages to move the supplies in.

“The island was once a mining colony for iron ores. I bought it and changed.” Lord Henry told the newly arrived guests. “This is the entrance to Small Jaws, and up here we called it the Gooseneck. I don’t know why but it got stuck to the name.”

“Big Jaws in on the other side of the island where the fishing trawlers get to seek shelter during the storms. In the centre of the Island is my Fortress of Solitude. It stretched from there back to Big Jaws.” Lord Henry explained. “It’s more of a home to the ones who stayed here. It’s fortified with guns but for defensive purpose. We are living in dangerous times now.”

“I say, old boy.” Jones quipped in while nudging at the Sergeant Major’ left ribs. “Is there a tavern here?”

“Yes, Corporal. It’s on Big Jaws.” Lord Henry replied. “If you walk, it might take you half a day climbing over the volcano there. Or you could take the train. It should not take more than an hour.”

“Aye, my Lord. I am on my way.” Corporal Jones dragged the Sergeant Major by the arms. The later was reluctant to leave but his Lordship gave the consent. Lord Henry then led the others to his home on the volcano side.

“Living dangerously had always been my life.” Lord Henry then held his brandy after having refreshed himself at his home. They were all seated at the cushy settee in the mansion hall. “When I saw this island on one of my reckless sails, I sought out the owner and bought it. I stayed here for over a month to explore the place and found the cavern. It was an explorer dream then.”

“During the war, I did bring Arthur here. We hid out here and planned our missions here. It was him who introduced me to deep sea fishing. I was intrigued and then invested in it. The fishes will be the bridging supply to our dwindling food supply. Of course we never bargained for the predators but then again, which frontier does not have its own predators.”

“I could not just have the island to myself. I had to make it useful for others too. The sea is huge and we are pawns to its emotions. I developed Big Jaws to become a safe harbour.” It was the elderly man sighed. “I never thought the Chamberlain will play dirty. Damn! He was a good friend then.”

The dark uniformed officer stepped in to his Lordship Hall. He was an elderly man with a stern look and a firmer frame. He was armed with a Webley strapped to his waist belt.

“My Lord, we are in need to speak.” The elderly man had on the thick curled up moustache that was the trade mark of Senior Sergeants.

“You may speak freely, Staff Sergeant Hamley. We are among friends here.”

“So be it, my Lord. Three trawlers came to berth last week. They sought shelter on the grounds of repairing their boats.” Staff Sergeant Hamley spoke up. “We never turn anyone away. They turned out to be Far Eastern in their looks and talks.”

“I suspect they are not fishermen’s but pirates or at worse killers.” Staff Sergeant Hamley continued on. “I was on the Mediterranean and seen my share of those booties killers.”

“Their strength, Staff Sergeant?” Lord Henry asked.

“About five on land and another twenty five on the boats.  They have weapons, rifles and pistols next to their cleavers.”

“Put them under surveillance and give me daily report. They could be genuine pirates or Lady Jan’s hired killers.” Lord Henry gave the command. “Gentlemen, it’s time we visit Big Jaws.”