Bactine (13 page)

"Good. Just making sure." The man, in official law enforcement uniform, looked Daniel over. "Are you certain? You look a bit strange."

"I'm fine, really."

"If you say so. Sleep well."

Daniel watched the man stroll off. He shook his head and lay down. After a while he fell asleep also.

The next morning he awoke to the sound of noise. He rose quickly. Around him, sailors were slowly getting to their feet, stretching themselves. One after the other disappeared for a visit to 'the piss', a relieved expression on their face as they returned.

Outside the cell the name of a ship was called out, and men came from the cell. They assembled near a man in a suit who spoke to them and then the group left the police station without further ado.

More and more ships names were called, and the cells were emptying rapidly.

"Pricosine!"

"Ah. That's us." Stroro hauled himself to his feet. They walked out of the cell, Daniel last, and walked up to Clelem, who stood waiting with Gaguran. They were both dressed to the nines.

"Ah, gentlemen," their employer said. "It appears you had a good night out. Mr. Zacharias, I see you are settling in quite nicely with the crew."

"Seigner, I am truly sorry. I-"

"It is fine, Mr. Zacharias. It is fine."

Daniel could not believe his ears. Best thing now was to keep his mouth shut and to hope that someone would clarify all this sometime soon.

Clelem nodded to Gaguran. They turned and walked outside, the sailors in their wake.

"Have a good day, gentlemen," Clelem said. He nodded and turned to walk to his waiting carriage. As the door opened, Daniel could not restrain himself. "Seigner Dandra ko Galem."

The man slowly turned. "Ah. Mr. Zacharias."

Daniel noticed the highly disapproving look on the face of the serving man and ignored it. "I beg your pardon, sir, but can you please clarify the proceedings? I am, to say the least, extremely puzzled."

Clelem frowned for a moment. He cast a glance inside the carriage, where Daniel spotted the frilly girl again, fan up for protection. "Of course. I should not expect that lot to explain all this to you. Would you mind riding with us? We have more things to do."

Daniel looked at his attire. "I'm afraid I am not exactly properly dressed, sir," he said.

"For this time, I will not take offence, Mr. Zacharias. After all, we know what has happened." Clelem Dandra ko Galem got into the carriage. Gaguran stepped in and Daniel followed. He was stared at by the young woman. Two large brown eyes over the rim of the fan, that then quickly looked away, out the carriage.

Gaguran did his trick with the hydger. Daniel noticed that he had a very small one this time, like an oversized locket.

"Mr. Zacharias," Clelem said, "the Ship Owners Society is aware of the strain that seafaring folk are living under when away for so long. Therefore it is no more than natural that sailors feel the need to let off steam, so to speak. For that reason, twice a year an establishment in the sailor's district is selected to be redecorated."

"Redecorated?" Daniel missed something crucial, he was certain of that. He blamed the long and intense night and the short sleep.

"Indeed. The name of the establishment is mentioned to at least one person of the crew, who will then direct his fellow crewmen there. At a certain point they will start fighting, which will severely damage the interior. As you may have witnessed. This makes the removal of the interior easier for the workmen. The seafaring folk had their brawl and a secure place to sleep, and in the morning we come to collect them."

Daniel's surprise was growing.

"The Ship Owners Society has a separate fund for carrying some of the costs that are involved in redecorating the establishment. It can, after all, happen that some of the sailors get a bit carried away in their efforts."

"But sir, I was the one who started the fight." Daniel felt bad about that.

"Good for you, Mr. Zacharias. But do you believe that the night would have gone by peacefully if you had not done that?"

The carriage came to a halt. "I believe we have reached your homestead, Mr. Zacharias. I commend your honesty. Have a good day, sir."

Daniel left the carriage and said his goodbyes. As the carriage rattled off, he scratched his head. This was really insane. The ship owners decided what place needed to be patched up and arranged for the sailors to take most of it apart. He grinned and went up to his apartment. After a shower and some breakfast he dropped himself on the bed and was asleep in seconds.

The hydger rattled. Daniel picked it up from the table and recognised Ulaman's sign. "Ulaman, good morning."

"Hello, Daniel. The ship is ready for new sailing. There have been some alterations to the rudder and we have a new sail. The Seigner wants us to take the ship out for a long test. We will leave in the afternoon."

"I'll be there, Ulaman."

"I know." Ulaman's face attempted a smile and the screen went grey.

Daniel stretched his legs under the table. He was sitting outside a nice little restaurant, enjoying a brew called sturt which was the local excuse for coffee. He had grown to like it. Tomlin Barker had pointed it out to him some days ago. "It makes a nice change to tea, Daniel," he had said. His friend had been right.

Daniel had enjoyed the days on shore; they had allowed him to travel around a bit and learn more of the town and the adjacent areas. It was not a bad place to live, but the lack of action (not counting a certain bar fight) was getting to him, so he was glad to go out again. Even if it was just a short trip.

He finished his cup of sturt, paid using his ring and headed back to his apartment. Getting his things was routine by now, so soon he was on his way to the harbour. He grinned as he came up to the immense ship. Seeing it like this was so much better than the view from his window. As he came closer, his grin changed to a frown. There were a few carts at the bottom of the gangway with the names of companies he did not recognise. Men he did not know and who did not look like they belonged on the ship were climbing up and down, taking things.

Daniel walked up to the deck and saw Draiky watching the men. "Hello, Xandree. What's all this?"

The woman shrugged. "I am not sure. Orders from the Seigner, I heard. Ulaman and Xandree are not here, they asked me to keep an eye on these people."

Two men tried to bring aboard a very large, long chest. They were swaying on their feet precariously as they tried to lift the thing up. Daniel dropped his things and quickly gave the men a hand. A fall down, he knew, meant certain death. The quay was hard and the water unforgiving.

"Thank you, sir!" the men said as they came aboard. They picked up the chest and disappeared below deck.

"They are hammering down there," Draiky informed Daniel. "Lot of noise. I'm happy the galley is far from there."

Daniel nodded. "I'll go put my stuff away and see what's going on."

"Good luck, Daniel." Draiky turned to the next man was bringing a bag of stuff on board, checked a list, and directed him below deck.

Daniel followed the man who moved slowly under his load. It was also obvious he was not used to moving about on a ship. The security man frowned as he saw the man stagger into the cabin opposite his own, where a lot of the hammering and sawing came from. The 'Keep Out' sign on the door made him wonder even more.

He was stowing his belongings when the hydger rattled. It was Gaguran Slindris. "Mr. Zacharias. Good day. I am calling you, on behalf of Seigner Dandra ko Galem, to inform you about work being undertaken aboard the Pricosine."

"I am already aware of that, Mr. Slindris," Daniel said. "The workers are hammering loud enough not to miss it."

"Very good. They are all selected and found safe to work on board, Mr. Zacharias. There is no need for you to be concerned, or to interrogate them."

"Interrogate? That is a bit drastic, isn't it?" Daniel wondered where that suddenly came from.

"I just want to make sure you understand. The work has to be done before the Pricosine sails. Seigner Dandra ko Galem asks if you can assure that all safety precautions have been taken and checked. And that the rescue vessel is in order, for the eventual case that it is needed."

"Of course, I'll see to that. May I ask what this is all about?"

"You will learn about that soon enough, Mr. Zacharias." It was evident that Gaguran wanted the conversation to end.

"Very well, sir. Thank you for letting me know."

"Good day, Mr. Zacharias. Apologies for being negligent; you should have been informed of this earlier." That was all. The grey display was a clear sign.

After storing his things and changing clothes, Daniel went up on deck again and looked for Ulaman once more. The captain was still not there. He heard his name and turned, seeing a small group gathered near a mast. He walked over. "Hi, guys. What's the matter here?"

Brinno made a hushing sound. Then he whispered: "Something strange going on, Daniel. Something really strange. There's rumours that there be a passenger on the ship."

"That would not surprise me, really," Daniel said. "There's a lot of activity going on below deck. Inside a cabin. Did the rumours also spill who the passenger will be?"

Brinno and the others shook their heads. "Nah. Nothing for sure anyways. Some say that it is the Seigner. Some say it is the mouse."

Daniel grinned at the way Brinno spat out the word 'mouse'.

"There should na be a passenger on de ship. She's a cargo ship, na passenger carrier," another sailor said, proud of his work and not too keen on strangers.

Daniel left the guessing group as he had to do his round over the deck, and under it too. He grinned at the lot as he walked off. Chattering and gossiping as the next man in the market square.

As he returned from the round over the deck, Draiky was no longer on her spot to direct people. Daniel peeked over the side. Some of the carts had left, some were still there. He went below deck and found the 'Keep Out' sign still attached to the door. He knocked and opened the door as far as it would go.

"Hey!" someone yelled, "can't you read?!" The door bounced back. Daniel obviously was not supposed to come in.

"I am the security person for the Pricosine. I just want to check things are okay in there."

"They're okay, now go and let us do our job. We're pressed for time as it is."

Daniel sighed. "Okay. Have fun in there." He'd have a look there as soon as the men had left. The fact that a cabin here was being worked in did add body to the rumours that there would be a passenger on board. But perhaps it was something for the future. Daniel disagreed with that last thought. It was still strange that this rush-job was being done only hours before they would take the ship out for a test. Also the comment about the rescue boats...

"You're looking for ghosts, Zacharias," he told himself. Instead of ghosts, looking at the cargo bays and checking out the bridge was a better use of his time.

Before going up to the bridge, Daniel went by the galley to have a look around there.

"What's that?" Draiky asked. "You don't trust anybody, do you?"

"I am just doing a routine check, Draiky," he smiled. "I know you are okay, it is just a part of the game."

"Game. Of course," Draiky grumbled. She did not allow Daniel to leave without having a cup of tea first, though.

Lidrin was alone on the bridge. The man was on his knees, up to his shoulders inside the housing that had all the controls for the large steering wheel.

"Lidrin, are things well?"

The sailor jumped at the sudden words. He cursed after that, because the compartment he was in did not allow for much jumping. Rubbing his head, he got up. "Oh, it's you. Hadn't heard you come in."

"Sorry, Lidrin. I didn't know-"

"That's okay. I shouldn't be poking in there anyway." The helmsman closed the door again. "I just wanted to see what they had done to the mechanism. All looks in order though. So what's this about the mouse coming on board as a passenger for the trip?"

Daniel laughed. "News sure travels fast here."

Lidrin's face lit up. "So it is true then! Damn the water-spears, nobody will be happy about that."

Daniel explained that all he had heard so far were rumours as well.

"Come on, Daniel, tell me what you know."

"That is all I know, except that Ulaman and Xandree are not here yet," Daniel insisted. "That, and the workmen who are below, rebuilding a cabin."

Lidrin nodded. "I saw them too. And the two walls they took out and carried off the ship."

"Two walls?" Daniel's eyes became large for a moment. "That's strange." He was tempted to contact Gaguran Slindris and ask what was going on, when Lidrin pointed. "The bear and his female are coming back."