Seabound (Seabound Chronicles Book 1) (9 page)

Esther was even
more desperate to get away, to surround herself with the faces of strangers,
something she hadn’t experienced since she was a child. Only Cally and Neal
stuck with her. Neal had always been a loner, but he was implicated in this
disaster because he’d lied to everyone about the storm forecast. Judith put him
on probation and made sure Manny monitored all his communications as they approached
the
Galaxy
.

Cally worked hard
to counteract the anger at Esther by spreading fanciful ideas about what the
Galaxy Flotilla
would be like. Everyone
was curious, and they speculated endlessly about the coming encounter. Esther
overheard Cally talking to Reggie while he checked the third port deck for
damage.

“There are at
least
half a dozen ships,” Cally
exclaimed. “Can you imagine? Think of all those people! They might even run
into people sometimes—like on the deck or something—that they’d
never seen before in their
lives
.”

“Probably like the
Amsterdam
. You meet strangers there.”
Reggie was absorbed in his work.

Esther skirted
around them so she wouldn’t have to join the conversation.

“But we’re usually
super far away from them,” Cally continued. “These are people they
live
with that they might never even see.”

“That’s what it
was like to live in the big city. Before.”

Cally sighed. “I
can’t wait!”

Cally wasn’t the
only one who was excited. Everyone knew the
Amsterdam
Coalition
; the
Galaxy
was true uncharted territory.

Chapter 11—The Galaxy Flotilla

The sea was unusually
calm, the afternoon sun stronger than normal, like a recently polished storm
lamp. Everyone whose duties didn’t involve operating the propulsion system
crowded onto the decks to watch as the
Galaxy
approached. The striations
of the sky were calmer than usual too, more blue than gray. Esther finished her
shift and jogged up to the deck, for once grateful that she was shorter than
almost everyone else on the
Catalina
. She hid in a corner of the lido
deck and scanned the horizon for signs of the ships.

She’d had a terse
conversation with Judith that morning in which Esther was informed she would
have to be present at the negotiations with the
Galaxy
’s leadership
because she knew which parts they needed to restore their water system. Neal
would come too because he was the only person aboard who’d had prior contact
with the
Galaxy
. Judith had been on
edge, like a pressure gauge teetering just outside the red zone. In the midst
of her conversation with Esther, she’d broken off to shout at Manny, the one
person who usually escaped her sharp tongue. Esther could understand why Judith
was tense. The
Galaxy Flotilla
was an unknown entity. It could be
hostile. Now, Judith waited in the bow, a death grip on a portable loudspeaker
constructed from an old theater speaker, scanning the seas with grim
determination on her face.

Cally, on the
other hand, was almost bubbling over with excitement. She stood on the lowest
rung of the railing on the main deck, her shaggy red hair waving like a wild
anemone around her head. Others crowded around her, searching the horizon for
the first sign of the strangers. Esther herself felt a surge of anticipation at
the prospect of meeting others. She couldn’t help feeling caught up in the
enthusiasm.

All eyes roved the
horizon as they sailed toward it. The clouds were porous, barely more than
threads in the sky. Murmurs ebbed and flowed as the crowd waited.

Cally saw it
first. “There! I see something white! Fifteen degrees to port. That’s it,
right?”

As she spoke, the
white form on the horizon began to take shape. Cruise ships rose out of the sea
like teeth: two . . . three . . . four, growing larger, glinting in the
unnaturally clear day. As they drew closer, the assembly on the deck fell
silent, in awe.

To say the vessels
were huge was a colossal understatement. Every single cruise ship was bigger
than the
Orchid
, dwarfing the
Catalina
entirely. These were the
ships that would have carried up to four thousand passengers for luxury
vacations. Smokestacks stood tall atop some of the structures, dominating the
sky.

A pair of cargo
vessels came into view as the
Catalina
drifted closer to the flotilla.
They’d seen big cargo ships when they visited the
Amsterdam
, but these were another species—two, three times as
big. Multicolored shipping containers piled high on the cargo giants. A massive
crane was moving one across the sea.

Bridges spanned
the gaps between the ships. Many of the windows on the decks were open. People
had come out to watch the
Catalina
approach. Smaller vessels zipped between
the behemoths like water beetles.

“Rust on a fish,”
Esther whispered. “It’s a city.”

Around her, the
crowds grew still, drawing a collective breath.

A smaller boat, a
pleasure yacht, detached from the floating city and sped out to meet the
Catalina
.
A group of people stood on its deck, one of them holding a loudspeaker,
standing tall in the bow. His shock of blond hair was almost white, like the
hull of the yacht. When the boat stopped, it wasn’t quite close enough for them
to see the details of his face.

“Hello there! Do
you speak English?” His voice carried over the water.

Judith was ready
with her own loudspeaker.

“Yes. Are you the
leader of this group?”

The man on the
yacht exchanged glances with the people behind him. “Greetings. My name is
David Elliot Hawthorne. I’m the spokesman for the
Galaxy Flotilla
. Welcome.
May I ask the nature of your visit?”

“We’re here to
barter for parts, then we’ll be on our way.” The blow horn masked some of the
distrust in Judith’s voice, but not all of it.

The blond
spokesman’s voice was smooth. “We have to ask if more than ten percent of your
population has suffered from any illnesses in the last six months.”

“No, we are
healthy here.”

“Then we welcome
you to our home,” he said. “We would like to offer hospitality, food, and
entertainment to your inhabitants for the duration of your visit. The
Galaxy
Flotilla
welcomes traffic with other communities. Do you have smaller transport?”

“We have a
speedboat and a few lifeboats.”

“Never mind,” he
said. “We will send our ferries to bring as many aboard as wish to explore our
flotilla. At this time, perhaps you’d like to accompany me on the yacht,
ma’am.”

Judith nodded.
“That will do.” She turned the loudspeaker back on her own ship. “Esther. Neal.
Come with me. Manny, you will coordinate a party of visitors.”

Esther made her
way through the crowds, keeping her head down. Most people didn’t seem to
notice her, transfixed as they were by the floating behemoths. Cally’s mouth
hung open.

Esther reached the
edge of the lifeboat deck, where Reggie was preparing a winch to lower them to
the water.

He shook his head
at Esther and then elbowed her in the ribs and grinned. “You’re all right,
little mate. You’ll fix it.”

She smiled
gratefully at him.

Judith was giving
instructions to Manny as she prepared to disembark. “Everyone is to return to
the
Catalina
at night, do you understand? I won’t have people straying
too far.” She lowered her voice a notch. “It’s strange that they didn’t even
ask what we have to trade.”

Esther, Neal, and
two crewmen climbed into the lifeboat after Judith. Neal was pale, sweat
forming beneath his mop of hair. Esther clapped him on the shoulder and
whispered, “You’ll be fine. She’s going to love you.”

“I kind of
expected her to be the one to come out to meet us,” Neal said. “We haven’t been
able to talk much since I’ve been on probation.”

As Reggie and Wong
lowered the lifeboat, Esther watched her friends’ faces. Cally was pouting, no
doubt disappointed that she couldn’t go in the first load, but the ferries were
already sailing toward them from the nearest big cruiser. Esther spotted her father
standing beside Penelope Newton just as the lifeboat dropped beneath the deck.

It had been a
while since Esther had been outside the ship. Their hull was scratched and graying.
It looked decidedly battered beside the gleaming white of the nearest
Galaxy
ship. That one looked like it might have even been repainted, at least above
the waterline.
Who can spare paint and manpower for that sort of thing?

As the lifeboat
dropped into the water, Judith warned them not to say too much about the
Catalina
’s
predicament. “We don’t know if we can trust these people. We will hold our
business close, get what we need, and be on our way. You got that, Esther?”

Esther nodded and
grabbed an oar to help the crew row them to the yacht while Neal filled Judith
in on what he’d learned from Marianna about the
Galaxy
Flotilla
. The founder had
been the captain on a Galaxy Cruises ship before the disaster. He’d acted
quickly to gather together other ships in the Galaxy Cruises line. They’d
drifted together, hoping for aid or direction from the corporate offices
onshore. When none arrived, the
Galaxy
captains agreed to stay together, hoping to find safety in numbers in their new
life on the seas. Over time they’d joined with a few rogue cargo ships and
offered shelter to smaller vessels.

The lifeboat drew
close to the yacht, called the
Abby Rae
, and someone dropped them a rope
ladder. Esther was nearest to it, and Judith motioned impatiently for her to go
first. She climbed up the ladder with the tether for their boat and got a
closer look at David Elliot Hawthorne, who was still holding the loudspeaker.
He was handsome, and younger than she expected, perhaps in his early thirties.
His white-blond hair was neatly combed, and he had suspiciously perfect teeth.
He wore square glasses with thick black frames. A woman in her late twenties,
with dark hair and liquid brown eyes, and an older man with tight lines in his
face stood behind him on the deck.

“Welcome aboard
the
Abby Rae
,” the blond man
said
.
“
I am David Hawthorne. I will be your guide.”

He strode forward
smoothly and stuck out his hand. He stood with his back as straight as a pipe.
Esther had never had much reason to shake hands before. She was conscious of
the grease underneath her fingernails when she gripped his hand as firmly as
she dared.

“Esther,” she
said. “I’m the mechanic.” She met his clear green eyes steadily. His eyebrow
rose just slightly, and she detected a twitch in his lips.

“I am Judith
Stone. I’m in charge of the
Catalina
.” Judith shouldered in beside
Esther and glared at David Hawthorne as she shook his hand.

Neal hovered
anxiously behind her, one hand still on the rope ladder as if he might flee at
any moment. Judith didn’t introduce him.

“Welcome to the
Galaxy
Flotilla
, Ms. Stone. Our captains would be delighted to entertain you for
dinner on the
Galaxy Crown
this evening, if you will.”

“We are here to
discuss trade, Mr. Hawthorne. Esther has an inventory of the parts we want to
barter for.”

“It’s mostly
replacements for a damaged RO system,” Esther began. “We also need—”

He smiled lightly,
ignoring Esther. “There will be plenty of time for that later. In the meantime,
we’d like to show you our utmost hospitality. We hope you will be pleased with
what you see amongst our ships.”

“Our need for
parts is urgent,” Judith said.

“If you must, Ms.
Esther can give her list to Eugene here. He represents the trade department.”

The elderly man
nodded. The skin on his face pulled a bit tighter.

“Oh, sorry, I, uh,
don’t have it written down. Didn’t have any spare paper.” Paper was amongst
their more rare commodities. “I have the list in my head.”

“Ah.” David
touched the edge of his glasses. “All in good time then. We’ll be sure to get
you some paper to use at your convenience. Marianna, please radio the
Crown
and let the captains know that Ms.
Judith Stone will be joining them for dinner.”

Esther sensed Neal
going rigid beside her. She stole a glance at him. His face was white and his
eyes wide as he stared after the curvaceous, dark-haired woman who had just
gone around to the small cabin.

Esther nudged him
and whispered, “She’s pretty.”

Judith didn’t look
particularly happy about her upcoming social engagement. Esther knew she hated
it when anyone else told her where to go, even under the guise of community
business. But the yacht was drawing close to the flotilla, and David Hawthorne
was too busy acting as a tour guide for her to raise any objections. He
reiterated the information Neal had already told them about the cruise line
origins of their coalition.

“We were lucky to
meet up with a few cargo vessels that needed our protection. We found abundant
supplies on board. Most of the
Galaxy
fleet was already at sea when the
disaster hit, so they were well stocked. The passengers aboard still had their
luggage. I understand from Marianna that the
Catalina
escaped from San
Diego.”

Judith shot a
disapproving look at Neal, who was busy trying to edge around the cabin to get
another peek at Marianna.

“That’s correct,”
Judith said. “We consider ourselves lucky too.”

“Of course.”

The nearest ship
loomed above them, the name
Crystal
Galaxy
emblazoned on the
side. Esther estimated it was close to a thousand feet long. She tried to guess
at the engine capacity and the number of engineers it must take to maintain
everything. And they had more than one ship to worry about!

They sailed around
the bow, where a bridge stretched between the
Crystal
Galaxy
and
the nearly identical
Emerald Galaxy
. People in brightly colored clothing
stared down at them from the bridge as they sailed underneath it.

Beyond the two
barrier ships, a nautical valley opened up, surrounded on all sides by ocean
liners. Two massive tankers occupied the center, and smaller boats zipped back
and forth between the tankers and the cruise ships ringing the valley. All the
cruise ships appeared to be connected by multiple bridges. Platforms floated
beside the ships, where people were getting in and out of the small boats.
Within the circle of ships, the water was surprisingly calm.