The Far Wild

6 - You're An Apprentice Naturalist

* * *

Suni

Rupert, I’ve never loved your early morning howling more, I thought as I sprinted through the dawn-dark pine flats outside of Lekarsos proper. Had I woken any later I would’ve missed the thief entirely. Now I just needed to make sure I didn’t miss the expedition.

The skyship fields were just ahead but I couldn’t see them yet. There was a chill to the wind as I ran. Mostly from the wet, tropical air. The humidity in Lekarsos was such that you started sweating the moment you rolled out of bed. After that, all it took was the slightest of winds to set you to shivering. Sticky, wet, and shivering cold, that was dawn in Lekarsos. Far better than sticky, wet, and witheringly hot, though, which is what it’d be soon after the sun was up.

I ducked a stray branch and picked up my pace. I’d stuffed the almost-stolen report into my bag, which allowed me to focus on the path ahead. The sun was high enough that I could make out the scrawny shapes of Pinus clausa—sand pines—on either side of the path. They were mixed in with the waxy fronds of saw palmetto. Serenoa repens, I knew. A frond exclusively found in Lekarsos and the Far Wild. Professor Symeos had been the first to describe the genus.

My breath came heavy, and exhaustion was already mounting in my legs. The adrenaline from chasing the thief had worn off now, leaving me with aches and a hundred itching scrapes from where I’d tumbled through the courier post’s roof. There hadn’t been time to apologize for that. I’d have to once I was back from expedition. But they’d understand. It’d been an emergency.

Come on, Suni. Keep it going. Can’t slow down now. I was a naturalist's apprentice, not a guide, but I refused to let myself stop. Tired muscles would recover, but how could I forgive myself if I missed this expedition?

The sun was just edging the eastern horizon, splashing the clouds with a few drops of pink light, when I broke from the pine flats and arrived at the skyship fields.

The airfield in Cyphos was the biggest in the empire and had been a thing to behold. It’d boasted a whole barracks of three-story-tall, covered berths, like massive stables. They sheltered the capital’s skyships and provided scaffolding for workmen to repair all parts of them, which was particularly useful for the larger ships in the fleet.

The airfield on Lekarsos, in comparison, was a field of sand and patchy grass. It had room for three skyships, if none of them were particularly large, and currently the field was almost full with two vigilance-class vessels.

They sat next to each other, just beyond the edge of the tree line. Hardly appropriate berthing facilities for such magnificent machines, but after all, it’d only been two years since the miracle of skyships had revolutionized everything. Some engineers claimed they’d even put sailing ships out of business someday. Certainly not anytime soon though. The components needed to craft a skyship’s seemingly impossible engines were beyond rare. Despite near-constant searching throughout the empire, there’d only been enough wrangled up to build eighty engines. With four to eight engines per skyship, that didn’t amount to many vessels. Sixteen ships in the fleet, according to the numbers I’d seen before leaving for Lekarsos. Skyships were powerful things, to be sure, but sixteen of anything was hardly enough for an empire. Even less so when said empire’s biggest rival was allegedly fielding around the same number of their own. The history of belligerence between the Cyphite and Bospurian empires was a favorite subject of history teachers at the college and, as far as I could tell, a gigantic lesson in the shortcomings of machismo and saber rattling.

“Kamil! Don’t leave, I’m here!” I spotted him on the deck of the farther of the two skyships, the Panagia. I sprinted toward it, exhaustion forgotten. He didn’t seem to notice me, hurriedly giving orders to the crew who were bringing the last of the supplies aboard.

The Panagia was a long, sleek vessel. Exactly twenty-two and a half meters in length and three decks deep, according to the shipwright’s documents. It looked every bit a sailing ship except for its flat-bottomed hull and the all too noticeable absence of masts or sails. There wasn’t any need for those, what with the four engines strapped to the hull. Two at the front, on the port and starboard, and the same at the back.

Tall as a man and twice as wide, the engines on the Panagia were made of a dark, black metal and were hollow on the bottom. They were easy enough to overlook, as long as they were closed. Open them up, however, and you’d reveal a beautiful mess of machinery. The general principle had to do with magnesia ore. Its natural properties created forces of attraction, then the engines harnessed that to convert potential to kinetic energy through confined exertion. I remembered it all well enough to sound intelligent, but my understanding was shallow. Knowing enough to know you don’t know enough is the greatest truth, Father always said.

The magnesia ore was the most important component, and deposits of it were exceedingly scarce. But more ore meant the ability to build more engines, which meant more skyships and a tactical advantage over Bospur. So the emperor had ordered expeditions all across the empire. It was great news for naturalists, seeing as our charter allowed us to tag along and conduct field research.

“Kamil!” I called again, as I came to a huffing stop beside the Panagia. He was on deck, waving at several crew who’d misplaced a case of hardtack. I ducked under two men carrying a crate and jogged up the gangplank.

“Kamil.” Whew. I caught my breath for a moment. “Sorry I’m late. It’s been, well. I mean, my morning has been wild. I don’t even know where to start. With the beginning, I guess. So I was at the college when Rupert—”

“Suni?” Kamil turned toward me. He’d a wide-brimmed hat pulled low over his head and a look of surprise in his eyes. “Suni. Suni!” He shook his head as if trying to wake up.

“Sorry I’m late,” I said again. My cheeks were flushed and hot, but not just from the run. If you’re not early, you’re late. This time, though, I was late. But with good reason, not that that made it feel any better.

“I was on my way here when someone broke into the college. They tried to steal your last report on magnesia ore deposits. The one from the Solimikos River basin?” I swung my backpack off and pulled it open to retrieve the report. Its pages were bent and crinkled, and, worse, some were stained with mud as I held it up.

“The thief escaped but I figured the report was more important. I’m sorry it’s damaged,” I said, frowning at its sorry state. “I’ll rewrite it soon as we’re back from expedition, I promise! You just have to hold the ship for me. I’m going to take this back to Professor Symeos and be right back.”

“Suni, slow down.” He frowned at me. “Someone tried to steal my report? Why?” He reached out to take it.

“It’s not damaged as badly as it looks, really.”

I handed it over.

He leafed through a few pages, checking their condition, no doubt. It was early in the day but already there was dirt on his hands and on his clothing. Probably he’d been helping the crew prepare the ship. Kamil rubbed at the side of his head, then adjusted the brim of his hat.

“Thank you for saving this report,” he said finally as he looked back up at me. “But did you see who tried to take it? I can’t imagine why anyone would want it?”

Kamil had once had high hopes for the Solimikos River basin. His initial survey had revealed magnesia particulate matter in the waterways there, which had led to his theory that there was a source upstream. Further study, though, as detailed in the report he held, had proven he’d been wrong. There was nothing wrong with having a failed hypothesis. It was a chance to start again more intelligently. That’s why we were going back out on expedition. To study the Far Wild and, per the emperor’s orders, survey for magnesia ore.

“I didn’t get a good look,” I told him. “The would-be thief wore a hood, but we need to return this report to the college and alert the Governess of the attempted theft.” Rulership of a backwater colony was far from a prestigious appointment, but the Lady of Lekarsos did her job dutifully and held law and order in high regard. A necessity when civilization and aid were always an ocean away. Kamil nodded. “You’re right. Though, as the author, it’s my duty to restore the report to a presentable condition. Several of these pages are damaged and several more are illegible. Regardless of how it happened, this is an unacceptable condition. I need to rewrite it.”

“When we get back, surely?”

“The college is quite strict. You know this, Suni.”

And he was right. An official report could only be presented in a near-perfect condition. Legible handwriting, properly presented evidence, and in academic formatting. Standardization was essential to ensuring all information was clear and easy to understand. Furthermore, a report had to be submitted for each expedition before another could be undertaken. All this I knew, but didn’t want to accept. I’d waited so long for today.

The expedition was leaving with or without us. It didn’t take a naturalist to survey for magnesia ore, but it helped. Surely we could find another way, though? I had to protest, but... I couldn’t. Couldn’t go against the clearly established rules and norms of the college. No. Certainly not without Kamil’s consent, at least.

“So, we’re... ” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Not going?” It physically hurt to think it, much less say it.

Kamil sighed. His posture changed as he did, like a weight was pressing down on his shoulders. Finally he inhaled and looked his normal self again.

“Circumstances being what they are, I think we can bend the rules a bit.”

A surge of excitement coursed through my chest. I clenched my hands at the thought. “Are you sure?”

He nodded. “I’ll have plenty of time to repair this report on the trip into the wilderness. It’s uneventful flying for the first few days.”

Thank the ancestors, yes!, I tried not to shout. We were still going!

“I’ll help you,” I said, keeping my voice as calm as possible. As if we were discussing something completely normal and appropriate.

“Well, the theft needs to be reported, too.” Kamil looked out through the jungle in the direction of Lekarsos proper. The tops of its buildings were just visible, rising on their hill. “I’m worried, Suni. This report has no value to anyone in the empire. Even if the thief turned it in to claim credit for the findings therein, we’d have records that it was submitted here first and later stolen. They’d be admitting their crime.”

I hadn’t had time to think about it, but now that I did, he was right. No one could claim credit for the findings and there wasn’t anything of value to claim credit for.

“Who would want to steal the report, then?” I asked.

Kamil looked around, then lowered his voice. “Someone outside of the empire.”

The implication was immediately clear.

“Bospur?” I whispered. “You think this was espionage?”

“What else could it be?” Kamil led me over to the ship’s rail, away from the ears of the crew. “Suni, I’m legitimately concerned now. Bospur’s tried this before. It’s far from unheard of. And if there are Bospurian agents operating in Lekarsos and they’ve taken an interest in my work... ” He trailed off.

“We need to keep you safe,” I said, probably too loudly.

He shook his head. “No. We need to keep you safe. And Professor Symeos. The further away you two are from me and my work, the safer you’ll be. Bospur’s agents will have difficulty finding me in the Far Wild, but you need to stay here.”

What?

“Suni, you chased the thief. They may recognize you. The Governess needs to assign guards to you, Professor Symeos, and the college grounds. This is a threat and we need to take it seriously until it’s rooted out.” He looked around, scrutinizing the crew and surroundings.

No. I shook my head. No!

“Kamil, I can’t. You know I can’t. This is my first expedition. It’s an essential part of my apprenticeship. It’s everything I’ve wanted since I came here—”

“Suni, listen to me.” There was a hard edge to his voice now, an anger in his eyes. “I know how much this expedition means to you, but there will be another one. You have to look at the bigger picture. There will be another expedition but this... it’s gotten too complicated.”

I shook my head, still refusing the thought of being left behind.

“Suni.” He snapped as he said it, then rose to his full height. “I am the practicing naturalist overseeing your education on this expedition. If I deem it too dangerous for you to come, then you don’t come.” He spoke loud enough that it caught the attention of the nearby crew and they turned to watch. My cheeks burned as I noticed some of them were smirking.

I’d never seen Kamil like this. Never seen him so angry. I wanted to retort, to defend myself, but it wasn’t my place.

“Suni.” He softened his voice now, leaned in a little closer. “Look, I’m sorry. I know you’re passionate. I know you’re intelligent. But we’re headed into the Far Wild. That’s dangerous enough on its own. But with these new circumstances?” He shook his head. “You’re not a soldier. You’re not a guide. You’re an apprentice naturalist. You’re not ready for this, and I can’t guarantee your safety.”

You don’t have to, I wanted to say, I know the risks. But the crew was still watching and I was paralyzed.

“Report the attempted theft to the Governess, then go back to the college. This is bigger than you and I don’t want you involved in it.” Kamil held his report in one hand as he crossed his arms.

“Not to interrupt,” the captain said, striding over, thumbs hooked through his belt, “but we’re ready for departure. Wasting good daylight, now.”

“Right.” Kamil nodded curtly. “Suni, go to the Governess.” He pointed at a group of laborers who’d been loading the ship. “You will escort her there and make sure she stays safe.”