Seaswept (Seabound Chronicles Book 2) (25 page)

Chapter 33—The
Transmission

Esther scribbled
frantically on
the back of an
abstract drawing that had hung in David’s cabin. She had to get this right the
first time. It was a good thing she had spent so much time scratching out and
rewriting the plans on the floorboards of the
Catalina
’s bowling alley. She could do this in her sleep—and
right now she felt like she could sleep for a year.

David took a turn
at the helm while Dirk prepared the
Lucinda
’s
crew for what was about to happen. They were sailing east past the northern
cliffs of Calderon Island. The wind carried the sound of exploding shells and
gunfire. The battle was underway.

David leaned
forward over the wheel, and Esther could sense the exhaustion in his body. She
felt it herself as she wrote down the final calculation. That was it: the plan
for her algae energy system, the most revolutionary invention in the New
Pacific. To her it had become a simple bargaining chip once again. It was her
only hope to save Zoe and stop the fighting. She didn’t care about profiting
from it—and never really had—but for a moment she allowed herself
to dwell on the implications this technology had for their world. People could
travel now, sail to land, or range further across the sea in search of
sustenance. For an instant, once again she felt proud.

She stood up and
shook out the papers. “I’m ready.”

Neal looked up
from the screen he had affixed to the
Lucinda
’s
control console. A large black device balanced beside it. Wires snaked out of
sight. A satellite dish above their heads was poised to transmit Esther’s
designs to the Harvesters locked in battle on the other side of Calderon Island.
Neal took the papers wordlessly. He slid the first one into the black device
and pressed a button.

The sun had sunk
low, touching the horizon. It spread raw red light across Neal’s features. He
puffed into the mouthpiece of his headset, which was connected to the satellite
system’s computer. David nodded.

“Attention all
Harvester ships,” Neal said. He waited. The radio by David’s elbow crackled,
but all eyes were on Neal and his satellite contraption. “This message is for
the Harvester ship
Terra Firma
. Do
you copy?”

Esther watched Neal’s
face for hints about what they were saying. The Harvesters should have gotten
their satellite system up and running while they were at the
Amsterdam
. Everything depended on it.
Finally, Neal gave a thumbs-up and listened intently to whatever was being said
into his earphones.

“Copy that,
Terra Firma
,” Neal said. “We are approaching
from the west in the patrol ship
Lucinda
.
We have come to retrieve your hostage, and our friend, Zoe. You’re holding her
in exchange for Esther Harris’s biofuel system. We are sending the designs for
the system to your onboard computers via a rudimentary satellite transmission.
Please cease your attack on Calderon Island so we can complete the transfer.”

Esther held her
breath. The deal for Zoe’s life had been arranged with Cody and his friends.
She had no idea whether it was still in place. The Harvesters would want her
system, but anything could have happened to Zoe in the past week.

The radio by
David’s elbow coughed again. “
Lucinda
!
This is the Calderon ship
Charley
.
You are trespassing in our
territorial waters, and you’ve abducted our mechanic. Halt immediately!”

“They’re on our
tail,” David said.

He pressed a fist
into the control panel and kept the
Lucinda
heading forward. She shot through the iron waters at full throttle. They still
hadn’t reached the battle.

Esther looked
back. The
Charley
—a light,
swift patrol ship—was coming up behind them, and she was fast.
Salt.
She was supposed to be far ahead
off the northeastern part of the island amidst the fighting.
She must have sailed around the south
side when everyone else went north.

“We are armed with
an RGM-84 Harpoon missile,” said the voice on the radio, echoing through the
pilothouse, “and we have you in our sights. Repeat: halt immediately.”

“We can’t shake
them,” David said. “Not without sailing into the middle of the battle. We’re
still too far away.”

Neal tapped at the
computer screen, then pushed the mouthpiece of his headset back toward his ear
and picked up the radio mic. Sweat fell in rivulets down the back of his neck.

“We copy,
Charley
. Hold your fire.” He put his
hand over the mouthpiece and turned to Esther. “What do we do?”

Esther paced
rapidly, ignoring the weariness in her bones. “How far are we from the
Terra Firma
?”

“Two miles.
Charley
will reach us first,” David
said.

“How’d they get
here so fast?”

“Guess that glitch
wasn’t as effective as you’d hoped.”

“We need to
distract them until we get closer to the
Terra
,”
Esther said. “We have to finish the transmission and get Zoe.”

“Distract them
with what?” David said. “They already have what they want.”

“Keep them
talking. Neal and I will work the satellite thingy.”

Esther joined Neal
at the computer console. He began scanning the second page of the design. She
corrected a clumsy error on the third page. A low beeping sound came from the
device.

“I hope you have a
plan,” David said, grabbing the radio mic. “
Charley
,
do you copy? This is David Elliot Hawthorne. Who is this?”

“This is the
Calderon ship
Charley
. You must
halt,” repeated the voice on the radio.

“We’re slowing
down now,” David said, easing back on the throttle as he said it. He put on a
soothing voice. “Don’t worry. Is this Harry? Everything’s all right. Please
don’t start shooting before we’ve had our say, mate.”

Esther could sense
the hesitation from the other side of the line. They just needed a few more
minutes. And she knew what they had to do. She scribbled four words on top of
the third page for Neal to see, then underlined the last word four times. He
looked up at her, his face etched with doubt.

Then he nodded. Four
words to change the world.

“You there,
buddy?” David said into the radio. “Don’t go silent on me, Harry. You’re not
planning to blow me out of the water, are you?”

Neal’s fingers
flew across the computer console. Esther watched, fascinated, as her designs
appeared on the screen.

Finally, an
answer: “No hard feelings, Davey. You and the inventor gal shouldn’t have taken
off like that. Chelle is pissed.”

“I’m sure she is,”
David said, forcing a laugh. “But you and me will have a drink at the
Amsterdam
when this is all over, Harry.
Right now we just want to be on our way with no hassle. This is more trouble
than it’s worth. You guys already have the energy system. What more do you
want?” David waved his arms impatiently at Esther and Neal.

“Almost ready,”
Neal whispered. “You sure about this, Esther?”

“Do it.”

Neal tapped a
final command into the key panel. The screen flashed twice, then a message
appeared: “Transmission in progress.”

“
Terra Firma
, do you copy?” Neal said
into his headset. “You are receiving a file via satellite. Can you confirm?”

“Copy.
Transmission coming through.”

“Good.” He flipped
another switch. “Calderon Island, do you copy? This is the
Lucinda
. You are receiving a satellite transmission with updates
for your new energy system. Can you confirm?”

A moment of
silence. “This is Calderon Island. Copy that. Transmission coming through.”

He pushed another
button. “
Amsterdam Coalition
, this is
Neal of the
Catalina
contacting you
from the patrol ship
Lucinda
. Turn on
your computers, boys. There’s a transmission coming through.”

Another button.
The USS
Wilson
. Another. HMS
Parker
. The
Pacific
Jewel
. The
Scurvy Sea Dog
. The
Santa Anna
.

Esther imagined
the message spreading like electricity through wires. Each switch was another
point firing up, another circuit connecting, another light bulb flaring to
life.

Another. The
Galaxy Flotilla
. “Marianna? It’s . . .
it’s Neal. I’m fine. I’m sending a transmission. I need you to spread it to the
rest of the network. Can you hook me up? Thanks.” Neal turned to Esther.
“They’re ready.”

“Let me have the
headset.” Neal handed it over, and she pulled it down on her ears. “Can they
all hear me?”

Neal tapped a few
keys and nodded. “Everyone on Marianna’s network, plus our direct contacts, can
hear you now.”

Esther took a deep
breath and spoke: “Attention all ships. This is Esther from the cruise ship
Catalina
, transmitting via
Lucinda
. If you can hear me, you’re part
of the New Pacific satellite network. You’ve all been communicating over the
last few months through a group of battered dishes and a few rogue satellites.
My friend Neal tells me there are over two dozen ships communicating with each
other on the satellite network, maybe even more by now. You’ve been talking,
sharing, helping each other by providing human contact on the sea. Well, now
it’s my turn to share something.” She looked up at David, who’d turned to watch
her. He smiled and mouthed,
You’re doing
fine.

“You are receiving
a set of diagrams through the satellite network,” Esther continued. “These are
the plans for an energy system that separates and refines algae biofuel in an
exceptionally efficient way. Build this system. Use the oil. Power your motors
and your desalination systems and your light bulbs. From now on you’ll be able
to travel where you need to without relying on crude oil or even the wind. This
energy will let you visit the
Amsterdam
Coalition
every month to connect and gather information. You can explore at
will and escape dangerous weather whenever you need to. You’ll even be able to
sail back to land if you want.” Esther paused for a breath. The surreal feeling
that she was floating above herself persisted. “This technology should be used
by everyone. Share it with any ships that aren’t already connected to the
satellite network. As of right now the two largest trading operations on the
high seas, the Metal Harvesters and the Calderon Group, already have access to
this technology. They will be on an equal footing, and so will you. I’ll be
around to help as you work out how to use the technology. But no matter what,
make sure this message spreads.”

It was done.
Esther pulled off the headset and looked again at the words she’d scribbled to
Neal: “Send it to
everyone
.”

It was what she
had wanted to do from the beginning. David squeezed her arm lightly. This was
the right choice.

But they still had
work to do.

She picked up the
radio microphone and flipped a switch. “
Terra
Firma
, did you receive the satellite transmission?”

“Affirmative.
Energy system plans have arrived.”

The voice on the
radio sounded familiar. Esther was fairly certain it was Liana, the first mate.

“Can you confirm
that I’ve met the terms of our bargain?”

A barking laugh
came through the radio. Yes, definitely the first mate.

“We are
withdrawing from Calderon Island, but you betrayed our arrangement by deserting
the
Terra Firma
and delivering the
plans into the hands of our enemies—not to mention everyone else on the
slug-bearing ocean.”

“Will you . . .
will you release Zoe?” She held her breath.

Liana’s voice was
harsh in Esther’s ear. “Do you think we’re—hey, what are you doing in
here? Get out!”

Suddenly, shouts
and the sounds of a scuffle came through the other end of the radio. The line
went dead.

Esther, Neal, and
David exchanged bewildered looks.

“What’s going on
over there?” David asked.

“Mutiny?” Neal
said hopefully.

They waited. It
had grown dark. The sounds of the battle had ceased. They hadn’t heard anything
from the
Charley
since the
transmission began, but it still floated behind them, a black shape in the
darkened water
.
The possibility of
the Harpoon missile loomed. Esther thought she could make out a ship ahead of
them too. Could it be the
Terra Firma
?

David reached over
and squeezed Esther’s hand. Neal raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment. And
still they waited.

Then the radio
crackled, and all three of them leapt at the sound.

“Ahoy! Esther!
Approach the
Terra Firma
and send
someone for your friend. You stole one of our lifeboats, and I don’t think
we’re getting it back anytime soon.”