Open Lines
Disclaimer: Twiknham doesn’t own any rights to Last
Exile. Those belong to Geneon, and Chiaki
Koichi, Tamioka Katsuhiro, and Yamashita Tomohiro. I’m just using these awesome characters to tell a story. Enjoy.
Open Lines
Walker stalked out onto the pier and looked at the big
monster heading towards the private dock.
“Martin, the outlaws are back.”
A tall older man looked over and grinned, showing a missing
front tooth and a propensity to chew tobacco.
“Yes sir!” As soon as the
Silverna docked, they would seal the dock.
Most of the ships large enough to dock at Casino Royale were the high
level military fleets. Military
captains by and large had a propensity to want others to know when they were at
dock. If a lesser ship came to dock;
seeing a higher-ranking officer’s vessel, that ship would travel on to the next
port. The only time there were problems
was when a higher ranking ship decided to dock. Than the two officers would have to come to an agreement to
share, or the lower ranking ship would finish supply renewal and embark on the
next leg of their assignment.
Alex Rowe had neither time, nor patience, for the political
maneuverings of the Anatoray Fleets. He
had commissioned the Silverna himself.
That basically made him a privateer.
Although he used the funds received from the Emperor for services
rendered, there were multiple rumors of where he had received his startup
capital. His favorite was that he was
the last heir to the lost colony, and he had untapped resources due to the rent
his family was annually paid by both Anatoray and Dissith for the lands his
family held the rights. Every time he
came to dock, Walker would have a new one for him. Alex actually accused him of making up the last few, they were so
far-fetched. And one once made him so
angry that if it had been anyone besides Walker, he probably would have shot
him.
As the ship rounded the curve to dock on the backside of
Walker’s, Alex clenched his teeth as he remembered. It had happened several years ago. As usual, they were both drinking a pint of the finest ale made
from the finest water. Since Walker was
in charge, he had access to whatever he wanted. He hobbied in homebrew, so why not use the best water for
it?
Suddenly Walker spoke up.
“So, you ready for the latest rumor on the ‘Tres Magnifique Alex
Rowe’?” Alex nodded. “The latest rumor is that your seed money is
actually blood money.” Alex raised an
eyebrow. “Blood money received from the
Emperor when you killed his daughter.”
Suddenly Alex stood, knocking over the table between them. Walker stayed seated, realizing that if he
stood, Alex would take him down. Calmly
raising his hands, he tried to placate his friend. “Hey, I don’t make them up, I only relay them. We both know the truth. Now, sit down…” he poured another mug for
Alex “and let’s talk about why you are here.”
Alex turned and walked out, not seeing Walker again until the day he
left.
Walker was one of the first vanship mechanics that Alex had
ever had dealings with, long before his personal experience with the Grand
Stream. After his run-in with Maestro
Delfine, he went back and recruited Walker to help him build his ship, the ship
that would eventually be called ‘The Kill Them All Silverna.’ As the ship grew, Walker’s dock grew. While working on the Silverna, he was also
taking in vanship repairs on the side.
Eventually, Alex sat down with him and told him that they needed to find
a way hide his ship, he’d found yet another curious vanship pilot walking
around on the half-built decks. Two
days later, his dock was covered in aluminum.
“What do you think?”
Walker pointed at the ‘blinds’ with glee.
“How do I get out?”
Walker chuckled.
“Well, we push this lever here; and voila, the blinds come open.”
They both watched as the top blind pulled in towards the
bay, exposing the ship to the bright daytime sky. “When did you have time to do all of this? I only told you two days ago.”
Walker grinned, chewing on a cigarette. “I noticed the problem two weeks ago, and
set Martin on figuring out a plan. I
thank you for helping me start up this place, giving me all of your earnings
from your many years delivering multiple star messages. Although I grew up on the streets as a sneak
thief, I’m paying you back honestly by building that monster of yours. However, I’ve still got enough sneak in me
to know when someone wants to be seen, and when they want to disappear. Just remember,” he pointed at the again
sealed hanger, “this is yours, no one else can play in this hole.”
Alex turned to look at his long-time friend. “Thank you.” He walked away.
“The thanks belongs to you!”
ssssss
Looking out over the edge of Silverna’s railing, Alex
noticed that Walker was standing in his usual spot. Making an executive decision, he marched inside to find Sophia.
Sophia was tightening the clasp on her hair when he knocked
on the door. Startled, she dropped the
clasp, causing her hair to fall around her shoulders. Leaning forward, she unlocked and opened the door latch before
dropping down to pick up her clasp.
When she stood, clasp in hand, Alex was frozen in the doorway. “Commander!
What’s wrong?” She already knew
why he’d frozen, she looked just like Yuris with her hair down. As much as she hated being compared to a
dead woman, she knew that was the only connection Alex was capable of making.
“Put your hair up, it is unbecoming on a ship such as this.”
She turned and cut him a nasty look. “I WAS putting my hair up when you rudely
startled me. In fact, I was in the
process of locking the clip in place.
Now, come in and close the door so that no one else sees my
inappropriate attire.”
Startled by her acerbic tone, he did exactly that; standing
with his back against the door while she quickly finished putting her hair back
up. “I want you to come with me to talk
with Walker about the latest modifications to the Silverna.”
Sophia stopped her tidying and turned to look at him. “Why?”
“You are my XO.”
“Yeah, but I thought those meetings were men-only.”
“Since it’s always been just two of us at these meetings, I
guess that would be true. However, you are
as good as any male XO I know, better than most. I believe we can make an exception.” He turned and left, standing just outside the door. “Are you coming with me?”
“Yes, but I still don’t understand why.” She shut the door, the braid holders swinging
gently with her movements.
“I want you to see what your daddy’s money is going to give
us.” He walked on, not seeing the
cutting glare she sent him at the ugly reminder of her responsibilities.
