The morning after the drinking party Ainsley stepped onto the deck with unsteady feet. His head throbbed and his stomach churned. He slowly made his way to the bulwark and retched overboard.

“This damn hangover.” Ainsley swore after wiping the corners of his mouth. He didn’t remember much of the evening after the first few mugs of spirits, but surely he wouldn’t have drank so much.

“Are you alright, Mr. Wilkins?” The coarse voice of Captain Smolger sounded behind him.

Ainsley cursed internally. Captain Smolger was the last person he wanted to dealt with right now. Why was he here? He should be busy readying the ship for departure. Ainsley tried to steady himself before answering the captain, but the swaying of the ship was making the process of standing still an imposing task. The redheaded researcher could swear the vessel hadn’t moved so much even during the worse parts of the storms they had encountered in the way to Saravela.

Concerned the young man would fall, Captain Smolger grabbed Ainsley’s arm. “I can offer you a remedy for your… indisposition.” He said pressing his other hand against Ainsley’s chest to support him.

Ainsley looked down and saw a bottle of rum in the captain’s hand. Was this his so called remedy or had he come here just to mock him? Ainsley thought with a frown.

“Oh, this isn’t it.” Captain Smolger chuckled after realizing the youngster was looking at the liquor. “This is for Mother Sea.”

Letting Ainsley rest against the bulwark once again, Captain Smolger unsealed the bottle and poured its contents overboard. “Let’s pray for her to bring good luck upon us during this journey.”

Besides the captain, Ainsley saw the stream of golden liquid mix into the seawater with a disapproving gaze. For him this was just superstitious nonsense. He technically practiced the Faith of the Stars, that was a counterpart to the Faith of the Sea, but he didn’t believe the whims of some supernatural entities could affect the outcome of their journey.

After a few more words from the captain, the bottle emptied and Smolger turned to Ainsley. “So, Mr. Wilkins, will you accompany me to get that remedy?”

“Thank you for the offer, Captain Smolger, but I just need some fresh air to recover.” Ainsley said, convinced Smolger’s remedy wouldn’t be more effective than the prayers he had just blurted. Otherwise he wouldn’t have seen Sherman puking into a bucket when he passed by the radio station on his way to the deck.

“As you wish.” Captain Smolger replied to the stubborn youngster. “Once, you feel better you should go rest. From here on out our journey will be more arduous. Everyone on board should be prepared to give their utmost effort at a moment’s notice.”

Ainsley responded to the captain with a slight nod and kept looking down at the waves while trying to hold back a retch.

Captain Smolger was displeased by the casual answer of the young researcher. It was like the dangers they might found along the way had nothing to do with him. “Mr. Wilkins, did I tell you about the perils we will encounter from now on?” He asked, knowing perfectly well that he had already cited said dangers when they departed from Victoria.

“We will navigate close to the changing ice sheet, where sea charts are all but reliable. The melting ice in that region continually releases daunting icebergs and unknown sandbanks lurk in the most unexpected places. The water itself is dangerous! It will freeze anyone unlucky enough to fall overboard. No matter if they are landfolk or merfolk.”

Captain Smolger’s prattle was only making Ainsley’s headache worse. The young researcher wished the captain would spare him the earful. Ainsley knew he would be of little help against the many dangers they might encounter. At most he could help repel some pirates if they dared to assault the ship.

“Not to mention more mundane dangers. Northfolk pirates may be a distant memory in the empire, but here in the north they are still very active.”

Yeah, exactly that. If pirates came he had the perfect tool to face them sitting under his bed. Ainsley patiently waited for the captain to end his rambling and then answered with a “I will keep your words in mind, Captain Smolger.”

Captain Smolger looked at the youth that was now grabbing his head with an unconvinced expression. “I hope so, Mr. Wilkins. Now it’s almost time to depart. Be careful not to slip during the maneuvers.” He said heading towards the bridge.

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…

The next day Ainsley was reading a book in his cabin. They had already reached the ice sheet and had been following it towards the west. The redheaded researcher had stayed quite some time on the deck, admiring the magnificent sight of the white and bluish ice wall that reached more than three hundred feet tall, until the frigid winds had finally convinced him to go back to his small accommodations.

Now the Polaris was slowly navigating half a mile south of the ice cap, while several eyes on the bridge scouted the waters in search of hazards. Ainsley turned a page on his copy of Mineral Deposits Under the Waters of Eastbern when he heard a fuss coming from the deck.

Ainsley stared annoyed at the ceiling, trying to discern the words of the sailors, until a clear shout reached his ears. “Pirates! Pirates on the port side!” Hearing it, Ainsley threw his book on the bed and rolled on the mattress until he could reach the handle of a long box laying under it.

With some effort he pulled the wooden box from under the bed and reached for a small key that was dangling from his necklace. A couple turns later the lock on the case was undone and Ainsley pulled the lid to uncover a shiny rifle and some ammunition.

Unlike his trusty gun Ainsley had never needed to use this weapon during his travels around the Taisregn Archipelago. It wasn’t even exactly legal to carry one of these in the Eastbern Empire. So he only brought the heavy box with him when he had to visit notoriously dangerous places.

After making sure the rifle functioned properly Ainsley put on his boots and his new cape and hurried out of his cabin with his heart beating hard. Once on the deck he could see three small boats approaching from the left. They were fast open crafts that could fit half a dozen people each. Judging by their speed and the absence of sails, the boats had to have water wielders running them. Either that, or they had somehow gotten hold of some modern oil engines.

Many sailors were already taking cover behind the bulwark with weapons in hand. Ainsley hurried to join them when a voice interrupted him from behind.

“Mr. Wilkins! What are you doing here?” Captain Smolger asked.

Annoyed, Ainsley turned around to confront the captain. “I’m here to protect the ship, captain. Didn’t you tell me just yesterday about the dangers that would assail us?”

“I told you to be prepared, not to put yourself in danger!” Captain Smolger exclaimed. “Remember! You are essential to the success of this expedition, Mr. Wilkins. You must go back inside.”

Ainsley wanted to retort to the captain, but just then the ring of bullets hitting the hull began to be heard, forcing Ainsley and Captain Smolger to take cover with the rest of the sailors.

Now that the pirate boats were closer the noisy sound of their engines reached the crew. Ainsley wondered how a random band of pirates from the far north could have acquired such items. Even in the Eastbern Empire steam engines were still the norm. Small boats like those where the weight was a concern would normally use sails or employ a water wielder if they wanted to reach a reasonable speed.

Ainsley took aim at one of the boats and shot his rifle a few times. Unlike all the other weapons wielded by the sailors his gun was fully automatic, a modern marvel he had been able to buy after asking his father to pull a few strings. He could just pull the trigger and fire a couple dozen rounds before needing to exchange the magazine.

But after shooting only ten times Ainsley stopped and frowned. The pirate ships were too far away to accurately hit them and the way the Polaris swayed added a level of difficulty to the task. Instead of wasting valuable munitions he would rather watch how the nimble boats rode the waves and wait for an opportunity to strike.

“Damnit!” Next to Ainsley, Captain Smolger swore while covering behind the bulwark. “Where the heck is Hages!” He shouted. Without a gun in hand the captain could only bear witness to the skirmish happening on his own ship.

Just as the captain finished his sentence the silver bearded merfolk appeared from the bridge as if summoned by the swears. “I’m here captain!” He exclaimed holding the door for two sailors that were carrying a heavy box.

“Took your sweet time down there.” Captain Smolger grumbled looking at him.

Hages kept standing there, holding the door casually, until a shot hit the wall of the bridge. “Oops.” Hearing the bullet reach nearby, the merfolk leaned down and slowly advanced toward a brown tarp on the bow with the other two sailors in tow.

Once there the two sailors left the box on the floor and helped Hages with the straps that kept the tarp fastened to the deck. After a few moments, the cover came off to discover a machine gun of considerable caliber affixed to the deck. It was a remnant from the time the ship was a military vessel.

“Phew!” Ainsley whistled at the sight of the stationary gun. He had a good knowledge about war weapons thanks to his family military background and knew the machine gun would have no problem sinking a vessel the size of the Polaris, let alone three small boats. The pirates must also have been impressed, because after seeing the machine gun aboard the ship, the rhythm of their bullets had decreased considerably.

Hages grabbed the machine gun and with some difficulty started rotating it towards the pirate boats. Given the size of the muzzle and the shielding at both sides of it, the gun had to have a considerable weight. Meanwhile the other two sailors took off the lid of the box and started charging the weapon with cylindrical, heavy looking, bullets.

“Captain, we are ready!” Hages shouted not long after.

“Good! Hages, warning shots! Show them this is not a decoration!”

“Alright, captain!” The merfolk answered and pulled the trigger. A deafening noise sounded as the first bullet was shot, and the whole deck shook with the recoil of the weapon. Behind one of the pirate boats a big splash of white foam bloomed and drenched the men onboard.

After the first, a second round followed and the sounds of bullets hitting the hull ceased. The pirate boats rushed to steer away from the Polaris and headed towards the horizon.

Seeing them flee the sailors taking cover behind the bulwark raised their weapons and cheered. Some crew members hug the closest mates while others sang praises to Hages. Among all these celebrations Ainsley turned toward Captain Smolger with an unamused expression and asked. “Why did you let them go!”

“We could have sank all of them!” Ainsley exclaimed again in an accusatory tone before Captain Smolger could answer.

The captain of the Polaris looked the enraged young man in the eye and replied in a serious tone. “There are no big grudges between us. Look at their ships.” He said pointing at the fleeing boats. “They cannot have come from very far away, they must have a lair near here. If we had sank them they would have a strong reason to pursue us, but now that they know we aren’t defenseless they should leave us alone.”

Ainsley was still annoyed that the pirates had been able to flee, but he had to admit that the captain’s words made sense. “I see. Those are some good reasons,” he acknowledged reticently.