Chasing the Lantern(98)

Or was it? Mordecai stopped halfway down the deck. A thought occurred to him. He had been willingly subversive for days now, always for the good of ship and crew. But why did they let Natasha lead them? Pirate crews were a mix of democracy and brute thuggery. Nominally, captains only held their position by confidence of the crew. In reality the most vicious, ruthless, capable people got voted up, and stayed up through both threats and persuasion. Natasha was capable enough, and the crew loyal, but her father's name put the most weight behind her. That was why she was always so desperate to be out from under the old man's shadow.

Mordecai looked around the deck of the ship. He looked to the crew at the bow, the stern, and those moving around on the gasbag frame above. The faces he saw were tired, and on edge. None of them wanted to be here.

More than that, he saw the ship. The Dawnhawk. He had spent countless hours cleaning it, navigating it, and making sure the crew wouldn't be an embarrassment to it. It's my ship, far more than hers.

He was surprised to realize that his decision was already made. It had been for days. Very well, then. If he was going to stage a coup, he had to do it the right way. First he needed to sound out the crew, find who would back him. There were optimum choices here. Once a specific few were convinced, the others would fall in line. Though it had never been done before on this ship, calling a Crewman's Vote was a time honored tradition.

Mordecai thought for a moment, then stalked back to the ship's helm. Konrad stood there, alone as usual, glowering at the city beyond the railings. The aetherite nodded to Mordecai but said nothing. Unusually, he seemed sensitive to Mordecai's mood. The argument with Natasha hadn't happened long ago.

"How is our course?" he asked the navigator, voice curt.

"Steady as she goes," replied Konrad. "We're still partway down in the valley, even up here. No crosswinds to toss us all around. We can hold here awhile, if you want."

Softly, softly. "What I want is unimportant," said Mordecai. "Natasha wants us here, to keep tabs on her husband and his poxy crew." He let a little of his bitterness seep into his voice, and watched the aetherite from out of the corner of his eye. He was gratified to see the other man scowl.

"It's madness," said Konrad bluntly. "We shouldn't be here. This place isn't ... isn't meant for us." He turned to growl into his shoulder at the daemon riding there. "No, I don't care how comfortable it feels to you." Konrad looked back at Mordecai. "We can't stay here."

Excellent, thought Mordecai. Konrad had been his first choice for two reasons. As an aetherite, the rest of the crew walked softly around him. Also, because of that, the man wasn't usually afraid to speak his mind.

Mordecai shrugged, looking pained. He let a bit of worry seep into his voice. "I don't have any say in that. As long as Natasha is captain, what she says, goes." He gazed up the deck, where she was giving orders at the bow. "If we keep to this course, though, I don't think we're all going to make it out alive."

Konrad scowled. "We should call a Vote. That'll make her look around."

Better than I could have asked for. The aetherite was more on edge than he had believed. Still, he had to go carefully.

Mordecai turned a disbelieving stare at the man. Konrad, for his part, looked embarrassed, and suddenly a little worried. Mordecai looked frankly at him for a long moment, then cast his gaze back up the deck. "I think you might be right," he said, at last.

The other man visibly relaxed. "Others are unhappy," said Konrad, as if Mordecai was unaware. "Reaver Jane, the Wiley Brothers, and that Farrel kid, among others. And it's not as if we'd be displacing her. Just...airing our grievances, right? That'll make her turn us around, leave this place."

Actually, it'll make her more obstinate, and there'd be blood all over the decks to boot. Mordecai nodded, keeping his thoughts hidden. "Say nothing. I will take care of it."

He moved down belowdecks. Fortunately, almost everyone was up above. He found Reaver Jane in the cargo with another hand, not counting the loot, but hauling up a powder keg they'd kept from the Queen.

She frowned at Mordecai's approach. "No need to chap my arse," she said. "Just found the thing. I'll be getting it up to her queenship shortly."

Mordecai kept his face impassive. The other pirate was Hans Droicker, a simple man with brutish tastes, but no real connections amongst the rest of the crew. Reaver Jane had been there since the beginning, though, and everyone knew she was steadfast and loyal. For a pirate, at least.

"Something on your mind, Jane?" he asked her.

The piratess frowned. She bent back to the keg to pick it up. Her short red ponytail fell over her shoulder, hiding her face. "S'nothing, sir," she said.