Work Text:
Charon’s run
“You going back on the River, Veen of the water, builder of Ships?”
“That is what I do Sar Borek.”
Sar was the local term for a leader of a group.
The young hunter, half a child, days before a girl, now suddenly a woman, maybe thirteen years old, was Native to this shore. Here you could even hear insects. While the other side of the delta was deafened by the noises of an ongoing battle.
The Hunter climbed on to the metal Barge that sat in the soft mud. Sar Borek Rolled out a map, made from thin leather. A perfect map of the Delta.
“Jer and Gilla see a blue thing from the sky crash into this Island”, Sar Borek put a finger on the Island she meant. “Blue thing with sign of Angeles of Emperor. But war is on Nestan. Not on small Island”
Nestan, the North shore. From this side of the River, the wide Delta, nearly twenty miles away, but still smoke was visible in the far.
Veen rolled up the map again, put it back into its Leather tube.
Streched out the arm with the tube.
“You take, you need.”
Veen shook her head.
“They will drown me and this barge sooner than later, I can not take this your group needs it.”
“We not need now, we not going hunt fish. You need.”
“I can not promise to bring it back.”
“No need.”
***
One hour earlier
Thousands of orange reflections on the water, little waves, and the slowly descending sun, accompanied by a warm breeze. An afternoon, perfect for a painting. A wide river delta, it also could have been a shallow inland lake. Dotted with small Reed Islands, occasionally more rocky ones, Pile Dwellings on them. The Tide rose high here. And the People living in the Delta where used to it.
The wind was nearly gone. It would shift as every evening, when the land cooled off and the sea did hold the heat of the day a bit longer.
Normally the Air carried a faint hint of salt, sometimes the unpleasant smell of the bigger City upstream, but now, even in the middle of the Delta, more than ten miles to every river Side, the smell of burning Buildings, vegetation and death was overwhelming. Dark Smoke Clouds fought a war against the sunbeams and they won.
The distant noises of explosions had replaced the sounds of Birds, most of them had fled in panic, same did all kind of boats still dotting the River in an unsorted frenzy. Manpowered with oars or under sails.
The Attack has come out of the Sky. Seemingly started up there, in the Void above this World. Most vessels on the water tried to escape to the sea, everything that floated seemed to go there. Day two, and the ships became floating Debris, all kind of things floated downstream. Wooden boxes, bloated bodies of humans and animals alike.
Seemingly unimpressed by all the Havoc around it, a Barge made its way through the Delta. A flat, rectangular floating platform, maneuvering between the Reed Islands and avoiding to crash into stuff floating around it. Shipwright Veen, standing at the Helm, had just brought two hundret of these simple barges to this world a part of the plan to get this Planet from an Iron Age Society, to a useful Asset for the Imperium. But training people to use these floating all round Platforms, had been cut short when one Warpship crashed into the wetlands near the Delta, the first proof that something was happening in System.
When this world went from peaceful to bloodshed, Veen had been at a pier near the Crash site, showing the Locals how the Barges worked, trained them to load the first imperial Trucks they got, onto even bigger Barges that could carry up to four of these big Vehicles.
As the crashing ship had found its final resting place, in the mud of the River bank, the local people all ran off, from whatever they where doing, not in fear, but to help the crashed ship.
But what spilled out was not friendly, the survivors of the crash did what they had begun in Space, bring death the everyone they spotted. Veens small Barge was full on this first run to the other shore, people even in the water, holding fast on the side. While the bigger one, with the Trucks, was one of the first victims to a missile launcher.
Piloting this lonely barge, Veen could not see what the Attackers where exactly, and she did not care, as they started shooting at her small Vessel, and the people on it.
Twenty Nine people where still alive when she reached the other shore, nearly to get shot down by the local Hunters there.
Then Sar Borek stepped out, holding out her hands, one of the rescues did the same gesture.
Then she told them something in the Dialect of the inhabitants of this world, Veen still only knew a few words off.
But she could make out the word for welcome.
She continued, never went back to the Northern Shore, to dangerous. Started pulling out people from the River. Bringing them to Sar Borek and her people. Pulling Fisherboats and other Vessels to the safer South Side, the Local called Riedlande.
Veen had not even thought about fleeing, there was no point in that. Her Handheld Vox only found static on all channels anyway. The Shipwright had been a part of a mixed team of Civil Specialists and Adeptus Mechanicum Members brought here by a Chartist Freighter. Due to be picked up again in one year. She had been looking forward to not only explain these Barges to the people, simple as these things are, an easy task, she wanted to learn the local shipbuilding traditions, before this world was pulled into the 41st Millennium.
Most Forces, Enemies and Imperial, had made Planet fall on the North Shore of the Delta. Where the few pre-industrial Areas of this world where located, also the Trade Hub for Agricultural Products. The biggest City of this world, was also on that side of the wide river. The other side, the safe one, for now was mostly Wetlands, Sump and Marsh and Reed. Even if the last one, the Reed, was one important product, not only for this world, but also for traditional Houses on others.
Some Delta Islands where home to Fishers and people who hunted the local Waterbirds. These birds, their meat and their beautiful feathers, became the most important export and Tithe item of this Planet. The rest of the World was marked for becoming an Agri World and also being rich in rare Ores, it would not have been long, and this planet would have been industrialized and maybe even one of the Civilized Worlds of the 500. Now it looked a bit dire for that endeavor.
But strangly enough, it was one of the few that was put under a strict rule to protect the Delta, and so the searched after colorful Birds, meaning the Adeptus Mechanicum had to be carefull not to pollute the River.
Looking at all the stuff now drifting in it, Veen was kind of Happy that these people where still pre Industrial. But the leaking carcass of the Warp ship started to pollute the water.
Veens Barge was nearly silent, an important decision that had brought her the Contract with the Mechanicum and this world against the others, who would have run these Platforms with loud Engines, dripping Promethium into the Water, she had pointed out that disturbing the so important population of the Birds that where right now the most valuable Export item of this planet, would be counterproductive for the Tithe.
And even to her surprise, got the contract. She thought it will be a nice time to get some rest, after the last big Project of nearly twenty years, building a fleet of sturdy vessels for Talassar, and then being shot down by a random criminal on this feudal world, a so rare incident, that it even confused the Locals.
Now her plans to go a bit slower on this world where cut short.
Since the Attack began, she had fished people out of the water, at least the ones who where still alive, and brought them to the Riedlande. But less and less people where coming downstream, holding them self above water on everything that floats.
The flat deck of the Barge was littered with all kind of left behind stuff. Blankets, Food Containers, bottles, Tarps, Baskets.
Now a small group of four people was sitting on the deck. Huddled together, whispering prayers.
They where afraid.
From the war, or from being on a ship without sails or oars. Shipwright Veen could not say. If these people could see what kind of water Vessels she normally build, they would maybe be a bit more comfortable, or scared. These Work platforms, Ferrys or whatever you could use a floating box with an Engine for, where merely a small project.
But something she had pushed to the Adeptus Mechanicum as important enough for the underdeveloped worlds in the Fringe. Easy to build. Easy to maintain. Easy to use. Build them from whatever you have, metal, wood, she had even plans for making thgem out of thinner Plastec Sheets, on a Frame made of Bamboo or what was at hand.
Sometimes she had the feeling the wider Imperium with all its Warships in Space, had forgotten how important things are, that could actually float. Vast Bridges, Antigrav Platforms, Shuttles, but outside Ocean worlds, water based Transport was often only an afterthought. And if these bridges where shot down, even the vast Armies of the Imperium could be stopped by a mere River. Stopped or slowed down to a crawl.
Some people had called her obsessed, especially after she joined the Mechanicum, after a Magos was the first person who was not running away when she talked about her obsession with boats.
She was no Magos, not even a Techpriest, but she knew the rituals, and her obsession was seen as something good among these People.
Even now, trying to get some Locals to the safer shore, she tried to identify every vibration in this simple Barge, was it from a not perfectly grinded down welding seam? Did the Propeller catch something? Was the Driveshaft to long? To short? Did the Engine not sit perfect? Every of the Barges she had delivered here was tested by herself.
Some called it obsession. She called it her responsibility.
Leaving the Locals with not the best she could give them, even as mundane as these floating Boxes, was her pride.
And now she did what these Barges where made for, transporting stuff. Four people where enough to keep her running. Not out of sentimentality. No. She did not even understand the language of these people. A low gothic that had turned to something else over the last ten millennia or more. No, as a proof that these sturdy barges worked.
And if she could not fish people out of these water anymore, there where Items floating around, the Refugees could maybe use.
And as someone often alone at sea, no matter what world, no matter what system, she felt safe on the water, even as she knew, getting to close to the wrong shore, could make someone shoot at her again.
Finally, the North Shore came into sight.
She took her flashlight and gave four swift light signals. The Reed and mud looked peaceful, but hidden lay some local Hunters and Fisherman who had build wooden walkways into this Area, that would swallow everyone who did not know it very fast.
The Barge came to a soft stop in the muddy Riverbank. Sar Borek and two others slipped out of the Reed, welcoming the four rescued people.
***
Now:
Even with the map, it was hard to navigate all the tiny Islands, drifting Reed did not make it easier. The Smoke covered sky made the darkness even fall faster. The Barge hit some things in the water, and Veen was happy that this was an Iron Age Society, so most obstacles where wood.
It was just enough light left that Veen could see the telltale form of a Droppod on a piece of muddy land, that barely counted as Island.
Also the Tide was coming in, bringing not only the river flow to a nearly stop, but making that piece of land even smaller.
It was already to dark that she could make out the color of that Droppod, or the Chaptermarkings on the Armour of the shadows moving around it. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, and activated her few internal augments, and the left eye, that looked kind of natural, until people took a better look at it.
Her connections and being officially a part of the Mechanicum, gave her now a few advantages. But still, it was dangerous what she was about to do. No Noosphere. That was to expect. And she could not get anymore information, even with her artificial eye, the Droppod seemed to block off any passive scan, and active scanning could trigger a hostile reaction. Drifting just outside their estimated weapon range, Veen thought about using the Flashlight, then made another choice when some of the shadows carefully walked to the side of the Island, that was next to her position. She put fingers up her lips and produced a sharp whistling sound. That got their Attention.
Hoping they could really hear as good as people always tell in their over the top stories about the Emperors Angeles, she just started to talk in a normal tone.
“I am Tech Adept Honoris Veen, Forgeworld Konor, send as a civil adviser to this planet. I estimate that three of you weight around 1200 Kilo. This Barge can carry 1500 Kilo. I pull closer now.”
While she talked she steered the Barge closer, then the bottom scratched over sand.
“That is as far as I will get, if we need to be able to take off again with over one ton of payload”, she stated, as the bulky shadows came closer. She was sending her Mechanicum ID and her Civil one, not knowing if anyone of these Warriors would be able to read it.
They said nothing at all, Veen opened the massive hatch to the Battery compartment.
“Two of you fit in there. Otherwise we would be Top heavy. Do not step on the main Cables, or we will be drifting debris”.
Her biological eye adjusted better to the dark then the Augment, still something was messing with it. But now she did see enough to realize the Astartes where standing in a slight Circle, Feet mostly in water, they seem to discuss something.
She went back to the Controls and checked the Batteries. She even had time to climb down into the hull of the Barge herself, pushing some cables aside, controlling the hull for leaks, but everything was nice and dry.
Sudden movement, as something heavy stepped on the Barge and Veen nearly fell onto one of the massive Batteries, her flashlight slipping out of her hand, she crawled after it, and got it before it could roll under a Battery Mount.
The inside of the hull was nearly high enough that she could stand, only her head poked out of the hatch when she looked up.
“I am Sergeant Larik. This Vessel can take four of us”, the massive shadow above her claimed.
“We will be slightly overloaded. Your choice Sergeant.”
She climbed out of the hatch again and went to the Steering Column unwrapped what she had grabbed down in the hull and prepared it. Holy Oil, Incense, Litany’s and all, she was part Adeptus Mechanicus, even if only in Title and as an Honour, and she honored this parting gift of Magos Xalen by doing the rituals needed. She did not need light to do that. Done it hundred of times before. Even as she never had to use the Galvanic Rifle before in a real Battle.
The First of her Ceramite clad passengers was shuffling around in the Battery Compartment. Then the second one stepped on board, all quit, climbing into the hull, with an unsettling precision. Both now inside balanced the boat precisely and made it more stable with their weight. Then the third one stepped on the Vessel, a bit more gentle, a bit more feeling the shift of the hull.
“One with a feeling for boats”, Veen said in a near whisper. “You can stay on deck.”
She had her Galvanic Rifle ready and secured it in the Clamp of the Steering Pillar.
To her slightly annoyance one more Astartes stepped on the barge, but she said nothing. They would do whatever they see fit.
But now there was no movement anymore at all. The where stuck. Overloaded.
Before she could state that the barge now was stuck, one of the two remaining shadows on the island came near and just did that, hard. Veen had to pack the steering Column to not fall.
“And off we go”, she said. “Lay low and put some of these blankets and Tarps over you, we must look like Junk drifting around. If they start shooting, we sink.”
She heard that they made their weapons ready. And for a millisecond she questioned her decision, but that was fast gone, now on the water again, she needed all her senses to navigate through the dark. But hat was something she knew, it was never totally dark on water, water reflects even the slightest light. Everything that stayed pitch black was either land or an obstacle.
As the flood was now fully pushing in, reversing the flow of the River, Veen steered the Barge around pushed back Debris and Islands, nearly out to the sea.
One of the three moons came up over the horizon, sending cold light over the small waves, to her relief, none of her Passengers asked why she was steering away from the wreck of the Enemy ship on the Northshore. The place she estimated they wanted to go. None of them even moved.
Two hours of exhausting steering around floating things, sometimes hitting something, always prepared that it might be something that poked a hole in the hull, that was sturdy, but hit anything hard enough, or with the bottom, and even the smallest hole could become a problem very fast, as they where already sitting low in the water.
Veen did not know this River to a perfect extent, but she had to trust her knowledge of currents, tide, wind and the movement of this floating big box.
The Engine made not much noise, but when turned off, the silence was still a bit deeper. They started to drift with all the other Debris, half sunken boats, wooden carts, Barrels and bodys back inland, and slightly to the North. There was a finger of land, four miles up river, and now the Tide pushed them in with around two knots. Before putting a blanket over the Steering Column, Veen took a last look around, then crawled under the big Tarp the Astartes lay under, aiming their Weapons to the port and Starbord side. With one hand Veen unclipped the Galvanic rifle, the Barge turned slowly in the current, she lay low, the cold from the deck even creeping through her waterproof Jacket she grabbed another left behind blanked, stinking from Emperor knows what, but it kept the cold away, setting up her Galvanic rifle, then pulling back her hand into the sleeves of the Jacket, she waited.
Something hit the boat, then drifted off, the sound of the active Warzone came slowly closer, Veen did see the world turn slowly around, then they drifted sideways for some time, until the Barge hit a piece of drifting Reed, getting stuck to it. Taking it with them. If she would not have know, her Passengers could also not bet there at all. They did not move, they did not talk, and she was happy about that.
Nearly letting out an amused noise, normally she had to tell people to not behave like a rabble of Nervous Grox on the Barge, walking around, making noise, sometimes even trying to touch the controls. This was kind of nice, even if drifting into the most dangerous situation of her life, it felt nearly relaxing, drifting with the Tide.
Then the movement stopped. And did not start again. Veen crawled out under the Tarp, staying low, it was darker again, they had reached the Area with thick smoke, but she could see enough, to realize, they had bumped into one of the drifting debris Islands, that itself had stopped moving, perhaps stuck to a rock under water.
“Groxshit”, muttered Veen under her breath staying in the shadow of the Steering Column. Starting the Engine might cause the Propeller to catch even more debris. She crawled to stern, dropping down the small emergency ladder, then started to take off her clothes, only to let herself glide into the cool water a moment later. Nasty stuff was drifting around them and she had to overcome the urge to think about all the bodies in the water, when diving under the barge, trying to find the Pod in the darkness. Four times she came up again, then nearly gut stuck in some branches or other stuff under Water. The fifth time she managed to reach the Propeller. It was was free, but the Barge sat on a Pile of junk.
There was one Obstacle free zone, slightly aft and port.
Back on Board, she did not put her clothes back on, first the Barge had to bee free. She activated the Engine without standing up, just reaching up to the controls, then adjusting the pod, and give three hard thrusts until the Barge snapped free, then drifted on. The noise from the shore was loud and near now. No way she could know if anybody had noticed the sudden movement of a floating piece of Scrap. She felt her heart beat hard in her chest but pressed down the panic lingering in her. Only a short times later, she was under the Tarp again. Feeling damp, but not dangerously cold.
When the Barge hit something an hour later, it was land. Not the Expected area she wanted to go, but it was the North Shore. And she heard Voices.
Then something unreal happened. Her Guests moved, with absolutely no noise, beside some whining Servos, nearly unhearable.
They where off the Barge in mere Moments, the hatch closed again, the vessel pushed out.
She had seen Astartes once, on a Parade, loud steps on Stone, Metal clanking. This here was kind of scary.
Now came the complicated part, get out of any enemy range as fast as possible, and find the tiny Island with the Droppod again. And then repeat the whole Action before the sun comes up.
The Tide still pushed in, slower now, it was already so high that it swallowed most of the Delta Islands. Now they became only slightly visible if not submerged at all, obstacles. And the night seemed to have more Dark in its inventory, as smoke was pushed down, over the water. This planet was so Low Tech, that it did not even have a position Network for Vehicles, so listening to the noise of water hitting a shallow landmass and staring into the dark, to try to distinguish water from unmovable objects became even harder.
Only the Metal skeg in front of the Propeller helped when hitting something under water, and the Barge hit all kind of stuff, Veen did not know if Rocks or Debris, only if they got slower in a soft, nearly unrecognizable way, she knew it was sand or mud.
Then the small line, that was the horizon, started to turn to a dark blue. Everything else was dark Smoke. But so, she knew at least where the Ocean was, and could use that direction to hold it aft, to go upstream. The Tide rolling in slowly came to a halt, got slag. Now it was like gliding over a dark blue glass surface with black dots.
Debris and Water, so much water, the south shore not even visible. Veen let the Barge srift, then rolled out the Map. As Primitive a map on waterproof leather first seemed, they had drawn easy to read markings on it. High tide, and low tide. Different colors, even where Land fell completely dry.
Three markers where highlighted with strange lines and decorations, that must be Islands Visible in all tides. One was a stylized rocky one with some Houses or Buildings on it. Another one looked like a stylized animal, the third one was a something that looked like a Pole or a Treestrunk.
Veen did not think to much about the meaning of all the symbols and mybe mythical stuff that went into this map, she had only to find one of these three Markers and then try to plot a course to the position of the Droppod, the small island now certainly under water.
She found the Tree strunk when it was getting morning. A sunken bigger Sailingship. But now Mist was rolling over the water and she had to wait until a bit of wind picked up and made the water visible again. And the South Shore in the distance. A last look on the map and Veen took off. The water still totally calm, she got the feeling that the Engine had lost power. A look on the Display showed her, one Battery was shown as not available. She climbed into the Battery Compartment. Her passengers had not stepped on the Cables, but maybe had hit one pole of the starboard Battery when climbing out. It was sheered off. Build for easy access, for humans, not for the armored foot of an Astartes. The Battery was in emergency shutdown mode.
The other Battery was at merely forty percent load.
After a quick dive to control the skeg and Propeller, last one slightly dented but in a working state, Veen pushed on.
Even if she could find the last two Astartes the Barge was in no good condition. Well, it floated. That was that.
It was something the propaganda pictures and posters found in every imperial City never would show. Two Astartes, clinging to the very top tip of a nearly fully submerged Droppod in the faint light of the raising sun, like a postcard picture of something nobody would believe if told. But Veen only let a short glimpse of that absurd picture get to her, a faint minimal grin, then she already threw a line over one of the five stabilizer Ends of the Pod.
After the first line she threw a second one, now bow and stern attached to an unusual mooring.
“The other four are at the North shore.” Veen said, while attaching a third Line midships, to stabilize the Barge even more.
“As you can not swim, try to not let lose of that Landing Craft, when moving over to the barge. One hand on the Lander or on the Barge at any given time.”
The two Astartes, looked at her, then to each other, probably using their own Vox.
Then one started to pull himself closer.
“I have a battery problem, but being on this barge is better than in the water. You decide”, Veen said.
An armored hand grabbed to edge of the Barge Platform, pulled on it, the Barge went down a bit.
Still in total silence he looked to his Battlebrother, then started to move himself around to the other side, hanging from the hull, until he was midships on the open water side. The Other Astartes reached the side of the Droppod, and with a strange elegance both pulled them self up in the exact same Moment.
“Well that was nicely balanced perfection”, said, Veen.
Both now towering above her, their Armour gleaming blue in the Morning light.
One of them clicked his helmet loose, took it off and looked at Veen.
“That took way to long”, he said, his green eyes fixing her with a cold stare.
Veen was to tired and had been stared down from Tech Adept to Magi for the slightest imperfection in any litany for years. Or just for walking by. As a visibly unaltered guest on a Forgeworld, and not a Tech Thrall or Pre-Servitor Slave, a nearly fully Human, was something that made the members of the Mechanicum not hostile, but measure every of her steps, analyzing, measuring, staring, hissing. Some even got hostile. So now she just stared back, adjusted her artificial eye on him, and let him see the faint glow. She was not brave, only tired.
If that was a staring contest so be it.
“Long enough to not get shot”, Veen replied calmly. “But now we are in plain daylight, even with the smoke. Doing the little trick I did to get your Battlebrothers safely to shore, will not work again. Tide is shifting, energy to low, and it is day. So we stay here, or we go straight to the North Shore. What probably gets us killed.”
“Afraid to die?” The helm less Astartes asked.
“Afraid? I would not sail on Talassar if I would fear the possibility of death. The Ocean is an indifferent beast, one fault, you are gone. I am a bit concerned that someone could shoot a hole in this hull, and then you would go down like a stone. And I do not like that equation. I have calculated the buoyancy of you in your Armour, the Result is: None. Also I feel responsible for my passengers. Even if this is barely a mighty vessel. More a box with an engine.”
“We can walk on the ground. We do not need this Vessel.” He stepped a bit closer, Veen had the urge to take a step back, but there was the Steering column.
She shrugged, “If there is ground, everything is meters deep mud. But in the end, that is the Problem we face. We float until we do not float. And this thing is not fast enough with enough power to show up as a surprise at the other side. We will be visible, we will be moving intentionally, and we will be the only thing on the water being a nice target. Now who wants to know how to drive that thing, if they take out the mortal first?”
To her surprise it was the one, still with helmet, who stepped carefully next to the controls.
Veen looked to his massive armored Hands, then to the tiny motor control lever. “This needs an adjustment”, she opened the Battery hatch, climbed down, searched something in her Tool bag, then came up again. Attached a piece of a broken rudder stabilizer Rod to the small lever by wrapping wire around it to make a stable enough connection.
“That should work”, she said. “Lever to the front, more power. Middle is neutral. Rear is backwards. Steering: Turn the wheel where you want to go. Ready to try it?”
“Positive.”
Years of mooring ships made her fast in removing the lines from the strangest Bollard she ever had attached a boat to. While pulling them back on board, she made the lines ready to be thrown again in no time, and did not see that the unfriendly Astartes was watching her, reevaluating her, while she moved over the barge with a swiftness that did not fit her exhaustion.
“Would have made an epic story nobody ever believed in every harbor”, she said to herself when she used her Boat hook as a hand lever to get a bit away from the Droppod, “but dead Ferrymen tell no tales”, she allowed herself a last look at the five blue stabilizers, barely visible above the water. Like blue fins.
The other Astartes was still standing at the Controls like a statue in front of a toy. One finger on the wheel. Like he could break it if he put two fingers on it, and Veen guessed, he could. Even if that thing was sturdy and made for decades with low or no maintenance.
“Ready?” she had found her footing again, instructing people how to steer a boat was her calling, beside building boats, or looking at them.
He gave her a slight nod.
“Well then Skipper: Rudder, midships, engine quarter forward. As soon as we are one ship length away from your landing craft, you can choose the course to the other side”, Veen said.
The other Astartes glared at her: “Maybe you should start to address us properly mortal. In that case it would be Lord.”
Veen kind of had it.
She just looked at him. Long.
“Let me just do my work and try to help both of you to get where you can do what you are here for”, she said as calm and cold as she could, holding his gaze again, then spitting on the deck. “You are standing on my deck. Lord.”
She broke eye contact and went to the Astartes steering her Barge.
“I take my ship Lord”, she said, now sounding as tired as she was, but also a hint of Anger in her voice.
“No need, I can do that”, he said.
“Lords you both are two big, blue nice standing targets, but I grab some water, also need some?”
The one at the helm shook his head, the one still staring at her like someone stares at an annoying insect, did not even blink. When Veen was in the Battery Compartment, his Battle Brother looked at him, red Eye lenses showing no emotion.
He put his helm back on.
“Say what you have to say Tirius.”
“She will be dead soon Keron, I have never seen you behave like this against a mere mortal. You always where quite friendly with them.”
“I am friendly”, he voxed back, “can that thing not go a bit faster?”
Veens voice where hear-able out of the Battery hatch when Tirius put on more power.
“We are below thirty percent battery, at twenty that thing will go in emergency shutdown, I try to bypass that down here.”
She got no reaction from both of them, only the Engine was taken back to at least half power, still to much, but she was not discussing that further.
She shortly considered, just leaning back at the Engine housing, just fall asleep, let them sort it out. But then something fired her up. She would not go sown in one of her ships, hidden away because some Passengers behaved like they ruled her Vessel.
Throwing the Battery hatch shut behind her, with a loud clank, “This Barge needs a name”, she said, more to herself than anyone else,“as it is possibly the last ship I will ever name. You be TIDE DRIFTER, build at the van der Veen Shipyards on Talassus. A floating box with an honorable heritage”, she had a can of spray paint with her and sprayed the name directly on the Deck, then flipped the can back through the hatch. It landed with a satisfying noise.
“Owner has the helm”, she said in a voice, that let even the Astartes instantly give her that Barge back.
“Twenty one percent, well, one percent left. Now pray for wind.” She made the Sign of the Cog, then turned off the Engine. One Percent left, maybe enough for one small emergency push if needed.
The north shore was already getting visible. And so would they be. Veen ducked away next to the Steering column, pulling a dirty blanket over herself.
She did not see or care, that the Astartes now also took cover under some blankets and tarps.
They gently drifted closer to the shore, the hull was flat, but high enough to catch some wind.
Then the slack tide made way for the slow river current.
“Close,” said Veen, “only a bit further little box.”
She could see movement at the shore, they drifted closer, slowly, and also downriver.
Two hundred meters, the minutes like glue, then hundred, sweating under the Tarp Veen lurked downstream, Trees, direct in and at the water. Perfect.
Fifty meters, the wind seemed to take a rest. Forty.
Thirty. The Barge made a slow full turn after hitting something. Making her look like the other stuff still littering the River.
Veen, slowly, creeping to the mooring lines, grabbing one, then two, securing them together, after a few more slowly moving minutes, always under the blankets and tarps she had a big coiled of lines, put one end on a cleat.
“I swim to the shore, you pull the Barge in”, she said. And before one of her passengers could say something or stop her, she was already in and under the water, only coming up to take a fast breath, nearly at the trees, then someone at the shore spotted her head, shouting, followed by the first shots. She reached the Trees, attached the sturdy line. Water splashed next to her, missed, the next shot hit her arm. But the knot held. More shouting, she was under water again, using roots and trees to propel herself away. Her right Arm pure pain, but she had done it, she had brought her passengers to this side.
Done, she thought, while the River pulled her away.
Her body gave in to the exhaustion and blood loss.
The faint light in her Artificial eye went out.
“Last Ferry…”, her thoughts faded away. Then an armored hand seized her and pulled her upward.
A voice, filtered through a vox grille, cut through the darkness “You are not done here brave little Charon.”
The End?
The Humans:
Sar Borek
AdMech
Magos Xalen
Shipwright Veen
The Astartes:
Sergeant Larik
Keron (the arrogant one)
Tirius
Places:
Nestan – the North Lands, North Shore. Main Warzone.
Riedlande – The South Marshes, South Shore.
The Vessel: TIDE DRIFTER