“That is a simplistic summation, but essentially correct. Of course, one may venture quite far before that occurs. You have shown me maps of where this Mada-gaaskar lies. You insist it is our ancestral home and I doubt it not. The distance and description are consistent with the Scrolls. Clearly one can exist even that far away, since we once did ourselves. The Grik dwell there still, and in places even more distant. But this… Ha-waa-ee… It is so far! It is in the Eastern Sea, where monsters even more terrifying than the mountain fish dwell! You cannot lightly ask anyone to venture that far.”
“We must, and so will you,” Alan Letts said, “because that’s where Ajax is going.”
Bradford pondered a moment. “My dear Adar, I know we have asked much of you and your people in matters of faith. We popped in here and, in some ways, stood many things you’ve always believed upon their heads. I personally apologize for that. Having one’s beliefs constantly under assault is always traumatic, and I do respect your beliefs even if they are wrong.” He cleared his throat, realizing that didn’t come out quite how he’d intended. “I shall ask you a rhetorical question. You are of the sea folk. You have wandered far indeed throughout your life. Perhaps, at times, you have even wandered far enough that you feared you were getting, oh, at least a little close to the dropoff point. True?”
“Perhaps,” Adar reluctantly agreed. “Once we voyaged around the bottom of the land you call Aus-traalia. I admit I grew somewhat concerned.”
“Tell me, as you drew farther south, did you notice anything extraordinary?”
“It… was less warm.”
“Yes, yes, but what I mean is, did you notice any tendency at all to walk strangely, or lean? Did you feel any sideways pull of gravity at all?” Adar didn’t answer, but he seemed frustrated and even a little irritated. “I must point out that we, these other humans and myself, have little better understanding of what gravity is than you do. We have learned that it works quite well and it is surprisingly consistent wherever one goes, whether here, Australia, or even the other side of the world. No matter where one goes, gravity always pulls downward, toward the center of the world! This, sir, is a fact. When Captain Reddy told you and Keje that he was born and raised on the ‘bottom’ of the world, he was quite sincere. Most of our American friends are from a land situated on the far side of this globe. I have never been to America, but I can assure you the Americans have, and they did not have to hang upside down, clinging to their land with their fingers!” He looked thoughtful. “Your beliefs are correct in the respect that the sea returns to the sky, but it does not pour off the side of the world to do it; it evaporates and travels upward, much like the smoke of your pyres carries the souls of your dead to the heavens! It is always dreadfully humid here, but surely you’ve experienced a day or two in your life when the air seemed less thick, less heavy?”
Adar nodded speculatively.
“Then there you have it! That thickness of the air is water being carried into the sky!”
“If this ‘gravity’ works so well, then why does it not prevent that?” Adar demanded.
Courtney sighed. “It’s a long story. I can and certainly will be more than happy to demonstrate the experiments required to prove it to you, but for the moment, I ask only that you trust me-trust us. The ultimate fact remains that, in order to retrieve those who have been taken from us and deal with this… situation in the east that threatens to distract us from our bigger business, Captain Reddy will chase them when he arrives. As you have had faith in us before, have faith now; those who go east will not fall off the world. They”-he looked defiantly around the chamber-“ we may well face unknown dangers, but falling into the sky is not one of them!”
Achilles arrived in Baalkpan Bay on the very heels of the Strakka, after what must have been a record passage. She’d sustained some minor damage, but Matt could find no fault with Jenks’s seamanship. Stony stares greeted her arrival and the flag she flew as she steamed into the bay and eased up to the dock. Only when Captain Reddy, the Captain’s Guard, and Chack’s Marines disembarked was there a marked decrease in the hostile tension. Many people still tried to get at the ship and the people aboard, but the company of the 2nd Marines with Chack was more than sufficient to keep the crowd at bay.
Matt strode to meet Adar, Keje, Letts, and Spanky, flanked by Gray, Stites, O’Casey, and the rest of his personal guard. “It’s good to see you, Adar,” Matt said, receiving the customary embrace. Keje embraced him as well. “I wish it were under better circumstances.”
“As do I, my friend. I cannot express-”
“Skip it,” Matt interrupted. “It’s done. Quit beating yourself up. Now we have to decide what we’re going to do about it.”
“Yes,” Adar agreed. “All has been prepared as you have specified. The wood and charcoal have been brought, as you ordered.” Adar pointed at a massive heap. “That is for Achilles, I take it?”
“Yeah. Jenks wants to get under way as soon as possible. Can’t say I blame him.” He looked at Adar, at all the faces present. “And yes, I do trust him. What’s weird is, even O’Casey trusts him now. You wouldn’t believe the mess they’ve got at home.” He paused. “Or maybe you would. It’s sort of like Aryaal and B’mbaado, except it’s all mixed-up in one government.” He shook his head. “Anyway, that doesn’t matter. Jenks might catch them, but I doubt it. He has to try, though, and we might need him.” Suddenly, Matt looked at Walker, tied securely to the pier. Her upper works had not yet been repainted, except for a few spots where the weather had allowed the painting of some welds and seams. She looked like a patchwork quilt, but she was whole, or mostly so. Smoke rose from two stacks and workers shouted and scrambled over her. A strange-looking gun was being lowered onto her rebuilt and slightly reconfigured aft deckhouse. Her force-draft blower gave the distinct impression she was breathing on her own.
“I didn’t believe it,” he confessed quietly. For a moment, the hard expression he’d worn melted away. “I couldn’t let myself.” He looked at Spanky. “Mr. McFarlane, my compliments-and my most heartfelt appreciation.”
Spanky looked uncomfortable. “Shucks, Skipper, wasn’t just me.”
“No, but you’re the ramrod. Always have been. Looking at you, I doubt you’ve slept since those bastards took the girls.”
Spanky shrugged, glancing down at his stained and filthy self. “Not many have. You’re gonna need your ship for this one, Skipper. She’s the only thing in the world fast enough to catch them. You’ve pulled more than one trick out of her hat. I figure she’s got plenty more where they came from.”
Matt clasped the skinny man’s arm. “You bet. How long?”
“Two weeks, Skipper. We’ll have her good as new by then. Might be a few quirks-we’ve basically rebuilt her from the keel up-but that’s still a week ahead of schedule.”
“I doubt it, if you count the man hours!” Matt chuckled grimly. “Give the guys a little more time off if you can. Don’t worry; I’m not going to stop you now!”
Spanky-everyone-grinned relief. They’d been afraid the captain would want to leave immediately. Undoubtedly he did want to, but he also knew a fully repaired Walker would catch Ajax regardless of the head start over the vast distances they were contemplating. One thing bothered Keje, however, and he had to ask.
“What will this Billingsly do with the hostages? He has threatened to kill them if he is harassed. Might he not do that anyway?”