Tunnel Rat

Three figures moved through the murky waters near the bottom of the Rust Sea. The heavily armored forms moved along slowly, forcing their way through the bottom muck, walking in a world where nothing else chose to walk. There was little life down here of the normal sort. Not enough little fish to feed the big fish and not enough big fish to feed the monsters. But things did sleep in the depths, and it was best not to wake them.

The travelers communicated by hand signals or by touching together the face plates of their suits so they could say a few words. There wasn't much need to talk. They knew what they were looking for, and they knew what to do if they found it. That didn't stop other people from talking too much, though.

"Narwhale! Calling Narwhale! Are you there? Over."

"Damnation! Sharkey! Where the hell else would I be? Stay off the damned talky-box! Even the little magic it uses might get noticed."

"No can do Narwhale. The Boss Whale wants an update. How much longer are you going to be down there? Looks like there might be something big moving around in the area. Over."

"Oh, and you have to say over when you're done, remember? Over"

"How the hell would I know? We’ll quit looking when we find it. And screw your damned talky-box rules. Goodbye, Sharkey."

"So what should I tell Whale? Over. "

"Hello? Over"

The team of three armored divers continued their movement through the red-tinged waters, moving from one rotting hulk of a ship to another. Things glinted from the interiors of ruptured hulls, and it was with heavy hearts that they ignored the lure of possible treasure. They had an objective today, not random salvaging of old wrecks. They were on a quest for one very specific ship out of all the wrecks littering the sea floor. If the payoff wasn't so huge, they would never be here risking their lives for random exploration of the area. Scavengers were always a little crazy, but the Rust Sea with its murky waters, treacherous currents, and belligerent inhabitants was a level of crazy beyond anything the crew of Leviathan could manage.

It was Pike that spotted what they were looking for, a deeper reddish cloud amid the murky waters indicating a large wreck. They trudged onward for another hour to cover that half a mile of distance. The rusted hulk rose above them, still magnificent even on her deathbed. Thick armored plates and three decks of cannon were enough to identify her. No ship but the Iron Queen had carried this many guns, each a bronzed behemoth over twenty feet long. Now, they were tarnished and adorned with barnacles, but in their day, they sent dozens of ships to the bottom when the Iron Queen was the ruler of the far seas.

A broken keel and ruptured hull testified that she'd never leave this graveyard. Too much damage was done in whatever fight she'd lost. The legends say that it took three armadas to do enough damage to send her to the bottom, but no wreck had ever been found. Not surprising with how close the battle had been to the Gullet. Sailing anywhere near the swirling whirlpool was death for a ship, and the undersea currents swirled and brought all wreckage to the Gullet over time. The Queen hadn't been part of that flotsam and jetsam. Her Captain had braved a trip through the Gullet to escape her attackers and find new hunting grounds. But she'd been injured too badly and the damage taken on her trip through the Gullet to the Rust Sea had been the death of the great ship and all of her crew. The only survivors were the dozen crew dispatched to buy whiskey and forever stranded as The Queen was attacked before they could return. They consoled themselves by sitting on the beach and toasting their lost mates until they ran out of whiskey and gold. Narwhale thought it a shame the Queen had ended this way. If any ship could have traversed the Gullet, it was her, but not after a battle that had put holes through her. Still, what a ride that would be.

Somewhere on the other side of the world was an area of vast storms that hid islands full of riches. The ships that dared sail those waters feared the storms and the serpents, but they feared the Maw most of all. The gigantic whirlpool seemed to appear and disappear, always in a different spot, hiding in the storms and waiting for ships to sail too close. It was a hungry mouth that used those shining islands as bait to lure its food in close. The Maw feasted well, sending ship after ship to the Gullet. It was said that when there was no prey to catch, the Maw would scour the bottom of the sea for wrecked ships to eat. And if the whirlpool was the mouth, and the Gullet the guts, then the Rust Sea was the other end where the remains of the meals emerged.

Thousands of wrecks littered the sea floor here, some stacked on top of each other in huge piles. It was every Scavenger's dream to loot the Rust with a good crew and a fast ship. Now, they were here, but with no time to search for lost treasure. The rusting hulk of the Iron Queen was the prize of prizes, assuming one knew what to look for.

Getting inside took some work. There were holes in the hull, but none that were easy to get to. You didn't swim in Armored Scavenger Suits. After a hurried conversation with helmets pressed together, they took a chance at a spot that looked like it would lead to Officer's Country. Cutting a hole took some time. Using too much power could attract attention. When the chunk of armored hull fell away, Pike and Narwhale moved inside, leaving Piranha on guard.

"This looks right from the plans that Whale got ahold of. This wide hallway should go past four cabins then end in double doors of the captain’s cabin." Narwhale had spent hours memorizing the plans, deck by deck.

"I wish our tub had this much room. Maybe we can get Whale to add another section to the ship and get some breathing room?"

Both of them knew it wouldn't happen. In Whale's view, more room meant either more guns or more engines. Scavengers were quick and well-armed. Anything else got you killed. But still, seeing the huge ship with its massive cannons stirred something in Narwhale. What would it take to rebuild the Queen?

The double doors opened easily; despite the ages they had been submerged. Inside, it was just like they had imagined. Gold-trimmed woodwork, toppled statues, jewel-encrusted sextants, and silvered depth gauges scattered on the floor where they'd fallen from the navigation table. What they hadn't expected was an armored figure sitting on a throne, helmet off and a bare skull with an iron crown upon its head glaring at them. Pike froze with fear and slowly kneeled, unable to do anything else. Narwhale advanced and bowed low, hoping to hell all the practice would mean the next part went off right.

"Begging the Captain's pardon, but the Chief Engineer says they can't hold her together. The only hope is getting the valuables to safety and saving the swag. Code: Bottom's Up and Down the Hatch."

For a long minute, nothing happened, then a hint of green fire lit in the empty sockets, and the skull nodded three times. A ghostly voice said: "Take it, sailor, I've been on guard too long. Go kiss a cute beard and pat his ass for me when you hit port." The skeleton crumbled. Fingers dropped a jeweled cutlass as the iron crown rolled across the slimy floor.

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Pike moved the navigator's table aside and pushed aside the remains of a rotting carpet. Beneath were a set of golden metal doors inscribed with runes and places to fit the crown and sword. As soon as each was in place, the doors glowed, turned upright, and opened, revealing a large extra-dimensional storage area. It was at least ten feet square and twenty feet deep and filled to the brim with large leather bags of loot. Pike whistled. "I didn't think it would be real. An Arcane Workshop built right into the captain's quarters. And filled to the brim with loot."

Narwhale started hauling it out bag by bag. "Let's not dawdle. It might not be stable. Let's unload, then signal the Leviathan to get over here. Finding the treasure is only the first part of keeping it." The hydraulic suits made easy work as they hauled out load after load of swag. When it was all out, Pike trundled off to signal the ship, and Narwhale closed the doors. The crown and cutlass came free. Shrugging, Narwhale took them along. A bit of personal salvage that no one could say was unearned.

Pike and Piranha came running back. "Leviathan is coming in fast and hot, with something behind it. They'll drop a cargo net, and we just drop it all into it and go! ETA is 17 minutes." Each scavenger grabbed three bags and hauled them to the opening, then went back for more. They finished with a few minutes to spare. Leviathan would drop a cargo net on the sea floor and they could load up in only a couple of minutes. Narwhale looked up, past the green-bronze cannons on the decks above, and up at the descending ship. The huge cargo net was already deployed.

Narwhale looked at the pile of loot, calculating its mass. "What's the load of a standard cargo net, Pike?"

"Maybe twenty-five tons in air, a hell of a lot more down here. Don't worry about it, Nar. This load is barely ten tons, all total."

"That's what I was thinking. Give me a hand, Piranha, and bring the bolt cutters. I want a souvenir."

Five minutes later, the huge net used to haul away salvage was lowered from the Leviathan. Until now, none of the crew had believed another ship could be bigger than Leviathan. She was 210 feet long, double-hulled, and twenty-five feet wide when her weapons were pulled in. The Iron Queen dwarfed her at over 500 feet in length. Her crew watched from portholes, and some were in their suits and scattered about the hull to help haul in the swag.

These were the crew that saw the first of four huge, bronzed cannons tumble from a gun deck down into the net. After the girls had their souvenirs, the three of them quickly tossed the rest of the swag on top and leaped into the net themselves. Leviathan was already heading up and out. That was the good news. The bad news was what had been tailing them.

As the salvage crew and the loot were pulled into the ship, the captain stared out the front observation port with a sub-scope. "Dragonfish, but nothing we can't handle. Tell the gunners to load the harpoons with explosive heads and wait for it to try and pass us. It'll want to swing by, then circle us and try to snap us in half. We take the shots as it starts to turn and keep firing until it's dead."

The portside gunner, Spike, yawned. "Sorry, I was napping while you jabbered on telling someone how to do their job, Captain."

Whale knew better than to argue with her gunner when they had incoming. Spike knew her business. If only other people did. What did that fool girl think trying to take four cannons along with the good stuff? She could have gone cannon shopping for her dowry after they sold the loot.

That was when the airlock to the bridge opened, and three tired scavengers entered the room. Other crew members helped them out of the heavy diving helmets and pneumatic suits. Narwhale stretched out her arms, showing impressive muscles and more impressive tattoos. Someone tossed her a comb, and she started getting knots from her bright orange hair and beard.

Whale waited until she was presentable before hugging her daughter. "Damn little fool, what are those old, worthless guns for?"

"Not too worthless. That isn't bronze they're made of. The barnacles and sea droppings whipped right off of them. They were as shiny as the day they were cast. Some sort of Engineer work, and good work at that. I bet we can add one to Leviathan and give her some extra power to the front. You always said you wanted a bow gun. The others were adding to our dowries. A girl can't have too many guns."

"What about the rest of the swag? Good as the legends say?"

Nar nodded. "I checked a few bags. It's the treasure of a lifetime. Engine parts, magi-tech, blue-prints galore, and bag after bag of shiny pieces of gold. The crew will be drinking themselves blind and chasing them short-beards back home for a year and a day on their share."

Whale snorted. "Don't count your gold before it's safely home. We still have a dragonfish coming after us. Some sort of guardian, maybe."

With a look at the gunners, Narwhale winked at Spike, then turned back to the captain. "Well, I'm sure Mama Whale knows best, but I'll bet you your first pick of the treasure for my next two picks that Spike nails it first shot."

"No bet, girl. You have the first pick coming. Your two mates go next. Then I get fourth and fifth. You found the map and journal; you did the work. Only fair you get the first pick."

The crew roared when, as predicted, Spike put an explosive bolt into the snake just behind the head and blew it to smithereens. Whale slapped her on the back. "You just earned 6th pick, Spike, nice shooting."

"Thanks, Captain. Did I hear there was some magi-tech in there?"

Narwhale nodded. "All sorts of gadgets, along with cables, power sources, manuals. Look, I even found a power crystal small enough for your old amulet, mama."

From around her neck, Narwhale took out an antique amulet with the runes of two families intertwined. She casually put the tip of her knife under the old, dead crystal, flipped it out of the amulet, and set the new one inside.

Whale shook her head. What folly that deal had been? Her own great-mam had tied herself to the youngest son of one of the great clans. They were young and full of plans. She was going to serve seven years as a mate on her family’s submersible, and he was going to be an engineer. The Cataclysm came, and she never saw him again. Just as well. It led to her having Leviathan instead of being the daughter of some spanner-boy. The family had led the Scavenger life ever since.

The amulet glowed, lines of light filling in several layers of her family’s rune, while on the other side, it slowly advanced to markings halfway up the rune. Whale stared. "Well, slap me sideways and cart me off to a nunnery. He's alive!"

Spike squinted at the old bit of magi-tech. "Alive, and just made Senior Engineer. Congratulations, little Narwhale, you're engaged! Now you just have to go find him."

A sound of rage echoed through the ship. From the muck near Leviathan, something began to emerge, shaking itself loose from the ocean floor. "SHIT! Sorry, Captain, but it's bad. Another snake. An old one, and she's pissed."

Whale yelled orders. "Let's get up top and make our getaway. How far to the nearest safe port?"

The navigator had the answer ready. "Day and a half to Shadowport if we go high and pop the balloon. Two days if we try to run on the surface."

"Hit the surface then and deploy the mainsail. We'll keep the balloon for an emergency. Set course for Shadowport. Nar can go husband hunting while we drink the town dry."

Narwhale looked at the small compass that was part of the amulet. Its arrow pointed towards Shadowport. “Oh, I’ll find him alright.”