The Islands of Sand and Steel

Chapter Five: Captain Lily's Fateful Raid

Feet stamped on the deck of the Lucky James as the crew belatedly scrambled for their weapons. They came up with gleaming machetes and hunting knives, and even a few tribal wood axes and war clubs. Someone had even bought a spear from one of the hub town vendors.

Lily drew her pistol and thrust into the air, shouting, "Here we come!"

Her crew started baying, clamoring and rattling their weapons, raising the kind of ruckus that no civilized woman could ever make. Lily watched, full of pride, as the crew of the target freighter spotted her and panicked. They traded shouts and sprinted out of sight. To her delight, two of the shipmates slammed into each other, face to face.

Lily's steersman brought the Lucky James up beside the helpless vessel, twisting the ship until they slammed sides. Hooks clamped onto railings, and Lily's crew leapt aboard in one disorganized wave. Lily went first, charging aboard with her pistol cocked and ready, hollering like she had learned to. But she may as well not have bothered. The freighter crew cowered away from her, some hiding, others raising their hands and gibbering for mercy. A cluster of them gathered in the back of the ship, digging desperately through a chest. As she watched, her pirates surrounded them, eager blades glinting in the weak, patchy light. The pirates howled their command for surrender, and one by one, the freighter crew put their hands up. The shouting died down.

"Great job, everyone," said Lily, marching up to the prisoners. When they saw her, they gasped in unison.

Lily cut an impressive figure, and she knew it. Beneath her generations-old crush cap, she had the distinctive round face and thick black hair of a pure-bred native. But her hair had been shorn into a bob, which traced her jaw with a razor-sharp edge. Beneath her trench coat, there was very little meat on her, but most of it was muscle. Over her flat, narrow chest, she wore a belt that held her combat knife, as well as the flimsy wooden club that she never used. Another belt crossed this one, stitched with silhouettes of bats.

Lily took no stock in rumors, and she had been born and raised a world apart from her naked, primitive sisters on the islands. But gods were another story. Everyone needed good luck, and hers was supplied by her patron goddess, Atocaua Manganga, who inhabited the bodies of bats. Lily had sworn never to hurt a bat, and it was a promise she intended to keep.

As she walked up to the frightened sailors, she snatched her pipe from her mouth and grinned. "This is why I love you, boys and girls. Swell job, all of you." She jabbed her finger at the tallest man in the freighter crew. "Show us your cargo."

The man blinked a few times. "I'm the captain," he said plaintively. "But... really, he's in charge here." He pointed a shaking finger to a native man in a suit and glasses. That man stood up straight, shooting Lily the most stuck-up scowl she had seen in years.

"I'm the lead scientist on the expedition," said the native man. "Doctor Hugo Vulamba."

"So you went to school," said Lily. "You don't see many natives in the rich kids' club. And you're a man, no less. Good job. Now what are you carrying?"

"If you hope to find valuables, you'll be disappointed. This is a scientific vessel."

"You've got my attention."

"We're on a paleontological voyage to find an extinct sea creature, and we believe we've found its skeleton in the ocean floor. Thanks to our technician, Reffin, we've found bones that don't match anything known." His eyes glinted, and his voice grew higher and faster. "Now we intend to petition the archeological society for grant money to excavate those bones. This information can teach us invaluable lessons about what modern life is and where it came from. I have all of the evidence here!" He held up a folder.