Chapter 11
Camron choked on his breath and started coughing. But it didn’t ease up. He bent over with his hands on his knees, feeling the sergeant’s eyes on his back the entire way.
“Sorry Sergeant, I thought I heard you say that I need to resign.”
“I did.”
Camron’s stomach fell out of his body, through the deck, and towards the ground below. He thought he was going to be sick. He grabbed for the guardrail to steady himself. He felt naked without his helmet on to help hide his emotions.
“Why? Did I not make a good Riflehead?”
“That’s irrelevant Camron.”
“Irrelevant?”
“You know the Burnished Silver Chapter of the Grundcorps doesn’t take anyone before their seventh decade.”
No! How does she know?? Camron managed to stop his eyes from betraying himself. “I am in my seventh decade!” He pleaded.
“I sailed with your father 65 years ago. He had no son then.”
Camron scowled and turned away from her.
“You haven’t liked me from the start,” Camron said. It was all her fault.
“That isn’t true,” said Nesbred, “rules are rules and you don’t meet the minimum requirements. But it certainly doesn’t help that you need some work on improving your aim and your ear seems to get gummed up at the worst time while I’m giving orders.”
He managed to harumph in a way that made him sound a century older.
Sergeant Nesbred laughed. “Now you sound like your father. He never did like it when he didn’t get his way.”
“Forgive me if I don’t seem overjoyed at the comparison.”
Nesbred held her hands out palms up in a placating gesture. “Look Camron, I either need to take you up on the infraction, or you need to resign. One leaves a mark on your record, the other hopefully does not. It’s up to you.”
She turned and started to walk away. After a moment, she stopped and turned. “Oh, and Camron? You show promise. I’m not sure when exactly you turn 70, but keep practicing and apply then and you’ll be a in like a frigate towing a downed megalofin.”
This couldn’t be happening.
The sergeant left.
Camron wasn’t sure how long he stood there.
“Camron!” Malaida was beside him now. She slapped him so hard on the back he had to take a step forward to steady himself. “Good to see you! We made it home! Our first voyage! To many more!”
“It may be my last as an Grundcorp marine.”
Her eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“She’s calling me out for not being the required age for the Burnished Silver chapter of the Grundstock Corporation. I have to resign when we get back. No academy for me. Just back to running my father’s inn.” He could feel tears at the edge of his eyes. It felt like he’d finally tasted his dream and now it was being taken away from him.
Malaida’s lips pursed, and then she blinked a few times. Let the silence hang.
“I was talking with the sergeant and I may have let slip that we played together as kids.”
“Malaida?”
“And she may have already known that I’m only 60.”
“Malaida?!”
She took a step back and spread her hands, palm up. “How was I to know you’d lied about your age?”
“I didn’t lie!” he stomped his foot, although that felt very petulant. “I just … rounded.” The lie sounded weak even to his ears. And the petulance in his voice disgusted him even more. He slumped over the railing and just gazed into the distance.
And he realized something surprising about staring into the distance. He felt worse about betraying their trust and tarnishing his honour than at being caught for the lie.
“Camron…”
“Enough.” He grunted without turning around or raising his head. “I may never be an arkonaut again.” The wind ruffled his hair and the sounds of flashgulls pierced the air.
“Cam,” she said, putting a hand on his back.
“Leave me alone.”
~~~
Camron leaned there for a moment, or for a generation of moments. The skyport didn’t seem to be getting bigger, or smaller, but time was passing. He was caught in the agony of the dream that shattered around him just as he thought he’d finally made it.
“Marine?” the captain’s tenor voice sounded behind him.
“Sir,” Camron said without turning. “No need to call me that anymore.”
“I wondered if that might be the case.”
He stepped up beside Camron and stood facing forward. Now that the captain was there the skyport did seem to be growing larger as they approached.
“Look - I’ve been thinking. I have my First-mate Grengever. And Logisticator Venderot. But I’ve been thinking that they both need an assistant. Grengever just had too much to do by himself and Venderot can be a bit loose with the code when he sees profit in it. I was thinking you might be good for the job.”
“Sounds …” Camron began. He thought of his father’s inn. Of running inventory, placing orders, trying to manage stock and cashflow while still supporting the research and development of new ales. He’d been good at it. But just thinking of it made him tired. This sounded like that. He stood straight and faced the captain. “Captain, it sounds tiring.”
Kraeg threw back his head and bellowed a short bark of laughter. “I like a duardin who speaks his mind.” He tugged on his beard before turning towards Camron with a wry grin. “Even if he still has yet to learn when it’s out of turn.”
Camron had the decency to blush, the memory of his outburst during the negotiation with the Barak-Mhornar duardin still fresh in his mind. A comradely silence settled on the two of them as the skyport grew bigger in the air in front of them.
Bondson turned to him. “So what do you think?”
“Sir, do you know why Sergeant Nesbred is kicking me out of the Grundcorps?”
“Something to do with the minimum age.”
“Exactly sir. So you’d trust me as an assistant to your first mate and logisticator? After I lied? A duardin is only as good as his honour.”
“Your father used to say that a lot.”
“I know, I’m hearing his voice in my head right now.”
Captain Bondson turned his entire body to face Camron. His gentle demeanor gone in an instant. He commanded an incredible force of presence, as if he was channeling all of his ancient duardin ancestors through him.
“Camron,” he said, his voice low, “have you ever lied to me?”
“No sir.”
“Will you?”
“No sir.”
“On your father’s and your ancestor’s honour?”
Camron chewed his lip for only a second. “No sir.”
Bondson’s face brightened. “Well good then!” He clapped him in the back and Camron had to step forward to maintain his balance. “The rest can all be worked out.”
The captain turned to leave.
“Captain?”
He turned and raised an eyebrow.
“Can I tell you something sir?”
“I thought I told you that you could tell me anything.”
“Well, you also told me I needed to learn when it was out of turn.”
He chuckled and bowed his head, conceding the point. He looked around. “It’s just the two of us, so I’ll take nothing less than your full honesty.”
“I appreciate this second chance. I think I had initially been hoping for more of an adventurous captain, rather than one who just made money.”
At that, a grin flashed across the captain’s face and disappeared just as quickly, though the twinkle in his eye remained.
“Well, I’ve revised my opinion. You’re maybe not the captain I thought I wanted,” he said, bowing his head to demonstrate respect, “but you’re the captain I need, and I don’t know what I did to deserve it.”
Captain Kraeg Bondson nodded his head in acknowledgement, the barest ghost of a smile gracing his face. “Aint that all right by Grungni.”
Le fin.
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