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Chapter 5: New Crew
“What’s going on?” A man sauntered in, Nita behind him. The commotion died down.
“The rookie picked a fight with Gale. Look at our supplies,” someone said, annoyed.
“Don’t you mean Gale picked a fight with Hercu?” Nita asked suspiciously.
The new man sauntered over to me. “Hercu, yes?”
“Yes, Sir.” I offered my prosthetic arm.
“Captain Reysan.” He squeezed my hand. “You’ve caused us trouble; don't make me regret my trust in Nita. And if you damage our goods again, we’ll eat you instead.”
I bit my tongue and nodded.
“We can’t delay any further. Hercu, you join Nita’s squad. Hale will brief you on the mission.” He beckoned two figures to us and pushed me towards them. “The rest, get ready!”
Chatter broke out, and men bombarded their captain with questions.
“Hale.” A man, easily a decade older than me, grabbed my dead hand. He chewed on something. “What’s that thing supposed to be?” He chuckled.
“My. Arm.”
He mustered me. “Yeah . . .”
Another man stalked toward me with vigorous swaying steps, almost crashing into me. Deep, crackly gashes showed green gems inside his eyeballs.
“That’s Lush”—Hale leaned in closer—“it’d be wise not to disturb him. He’s a blatant addict.”
“What's cracking, fella?!” Lush stumbled into me, holding onto my shoulder for support. When he coughed, a hint of green steam puffed out his mouth.
“Lush the name. Glad to meet another young lad.” He laughed.
I introduced myself, holding back to push him away from me.
“Listen, Hercu, Boy. You got some of the stronger stuff?” He flashed a greenish grin.
“Sorry, no,” I said between gritted teeth, the urge to punch him away from me rising.
His broken eyes narrowed in disappointment. “Oh . . . then you and I won't have a good time then.”
He broke out in laughter. “I'm joking, I’m joking.” He patted my shoulder. “Or not?” he asked himself, intensifying the grip near my collarbone.
Hale peeled him off me. “Leave him alone. We need him to fill in our squad.”
Someone clapped two times. “Get ready. We start in 15 minutes,” Captain Reysan yelled.
Some structure returned to the commotion. Equipment was donned, and everyone grabbed a few tiny bottles and cartridges full of Jade Mint. Gale guarded the Jade Mint stockpile, keeping two irritated eyes on me so I couldn’t snatch something.
I kept close to Hale. He told me to leave unnecessary belongings there and gave me a black raincoat. I felt pretty naked without my stuff, but at least my cutlass could stay by my side.
Eventually, groups lined up, ready to receive the following order. The subtle feeling from earlier emerged stronger: bloodlust.
Captain Reysan stepped onto a rock. “I wanna see a clean execution. The luck from last time won’t save us if we fail again, so give it your all. And no fooling around just because you feel like it, aight?”
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The crew grunted in approval.
Reysan pulled out a pocket watch. “Time to go.”
The numerous groups walked purposefully through various aisles. Strutting behind Hale, a hand pulled at my wrist. It was Nita. “I count on your survival skills. Don’t disappoint me.” She smiled.
“Sure, back to you.” I returned a grin.
—
We walked on soft sand through a palm forest. Bushes tickled my arm. Orange rays from the yet-to-set suns beamed through the long leaves. Strange animals resembling crosses between baby bears and rhinoceros beetles with leaf skin sat on huge coconuts, boring their long proboscis into them.
“Were they affected by Jade Mint?”
“The gist of the plan is simple,” Hale said. “The first step is to infiltrate the factory. One team will cause havoc while the other will disguise themselves as workers at the factory. Those that succeed will hide, stay disguised as workers, and investigate.”
“I see. Which team are we on?”
“‘Are we on?’ . . . Uhm, yeah, about that. Since we failed last time, most of the crew’s faces were revealed.”
Now, it clicked for me. “You mean that . . .”
“That's why Nita brought me along. They desperately needed new recruits for this mission. For new faces.”
“Yes, we are that team,” Nita said. “Hale’s face had been revealed, and Lush is an emerald among stones. They'd get caught immediately.”
I sighed. “That leaves just the two of us.”
“Correct.”
“Well. And once we work there, what do we investigate?”
“More or less everything, their strengths and weaknesses, combat power, the number of members, but most importantly, we search a map. We want to steal what they mapped out and how to get under the Dawn Sea.”
“Makes sense, but don’t the workers wear uniforms? They might even keep track of each one.”
“That's why we're going to steal uniforms. Their security is so strong, they don't care about individuals.”
We reached a small clearing, the sand vivid from the orange sun.
“Here, put that on until we get the uniforms.” Nita handed me a black mask.
“Hey! What about me?!” Lush approached her.
She clicked her tongue. “Be quiet here.” She gave him and Hale one, too.
I examined the metallic mask. Green carved veins tangled through the inside, and a red line ran across the top. “Looks expensive.”
“They are. The Verdant Kleptos are known for their snipers. They inject them with Jade Mint eye drops, so they rarely miss.”
“Pleasant.” I strapped the mask around my mouth and nose. A green hue washed over my eyes.
“What the—witchcraft?!” My vision sharpened tremendously, magnifying whatever I was focusing on.
She chuckled. “Did you think the enemy is the only one with advancements? Thank our smarties later. With those masks, we don't have to suffer the consequences of directly consuming Jade Mint.”
“Woah, they can do that? Can I swap into their team?” My voice sounded a little duller through the mask.
Nita stepped closer. “Nope.” She gave me a shove, and onward we went.
On the way, I played with the depth of field. This was even better than watching seagulls with my former Captain’s telescope.
“Did they modify Jade Mint to connect it to the eyes and, therefore, the engravings? Maybe that could improve my prosthesis, too?”
We walked on and reached a cliff. The last sun hung on the edge to cross the horizon. We peered out from a bush. Below us, a multi-building factory belched out colossal smokestacks like upside-down mountains of lifeless steam. Engines ran in loud hisses, powered by brilliant green.
“Why’s the steam gray?” I asked.
“That's what's left over when the Jade Mint is extracted and distilled into a more concentrated form.” Her long red hair blew in the light salty breeze.
“When is it time?!” Lush jittered.
“The Captain will fire a signal gun after sunset. Then we'll be on our way.” Nita turned to me. “And while Lush's going nuts, we'll find a couple of uniforms.”
I nodded. Raindrops tapped on my head and shoulders. Dark clouds gathered above us, adding to the saline atmosphere.
“Should have cracked one of the coconuts to counter the smell a bit.”
I checked the cartridge in my prosthesis; two-thirds were left.
“If it is possible to use the Jade Mint without consuming it, why do so many . . . “ I thought of the sick who were freed from their diseases.
“Riston had survived a fatal injury, the possibilities . . . maybe it's possible to give my prosthetic arm a sense of touch—or even . . . no, stop dreaming too much, Alva.”
The scattered raindrops combined into a drizzle as I stared at the factory, which held unimaginable potential. With the last glimpses of sunlight, I zoomed in on the bronze paradise.
The interaction of the giant gears resulted in the engines' raw, powerful, and fertile aura. Numerous pistons pushed each other in different rhythms, connected with green-breathing pumps and an all-occupying copper pipe labyrinth.
Darkness swept away the last bit of sun.
“Stop dreaming too much?” I stifled a laugh. “Who am I kidding? I want to explore this playground. Let me have it all.”